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!

Rig Check

With the help of my crew, I went up the mast to clean the spreaders, and perform a final rig check. We head out to sea next week!

Anchor Chain

I decided to inspect the anchor chain, so I ran out the complete length of the chain. This chain is over 20 years old, so I wasn't completely surprised to find the corroded chain ball pictured here, lurking at the bottom of the chain locker. It's definitely past time to replace this, so today, I bought 200 feet of new chain. It only weighs about 300 pounds, so it shouldn't be a problem to get it aboard. ;)

Mainsail Furler

Today, we successfully replaced the electric motor that drives the mainsail furler. The new motor works great, and it will be so much easier to reef the mainsail now. This is the last major job that needed to be completed before we leave, so now we can focus on provisioning the boat with food for the crew!

Short List

There are just a few items left on the "must do" list before we depart. Tomorrow we will drop the mainsail, remove the boom, and pull the gooseneck out to replace the mainsail furler drive. This electric motor failed at the beginning of this season, and it's an important system to have. With the electric drive working, we can take in the mainsail or reef it from the cockpit by pushing a button. Without it, we have to send someone to the mast to wind it in manually. It's not too hard, but imagine doing it on a rough day, or worse, at night in a building breeze. So, it's worthwhile to get this working.

The next, and really final safety task, is to inspect the rig from top to bottom. I'll go to the top of the mast and take a look at each and every fitting on the mast, looking for any anomalies, like missing cotter pins, or any cracked fittings. I don't expect any issues, but it's an important practice to check everything before going offshore. I've heard many stories of disasters averted by a simple inspection. And, I've heard the other stories, of disasters at sea caused by a single failed piece of hardware. I always say that I want to be at least two failures away from disaster!

Liferaft Aboard!

Today we installed the life raft. May we never need it! The list of things to do is growing shorter, as is the time before departure. We're almost ready to head north.

Mast Climbing

Today I went up the mast to repair the steaming light, which was out. It turned out that the bulb was fine, just a little corrosion on the contacts. It's all good now!

Starting Battery

The engine starting battery has been a little anemic lately, and I have suspected that it's failing. It's reached the point that it only holds a charge for a few days, so today we replaced it. These 4D size batteries weigh about 100 pounds, so I enlisted the help of my friend Scott to heave the old one out, and bring the new one in. Thanks Scott!

When I took the old battery back to the store for the core charge, they told me that my old battery was purchased in 2005. So, this old battery went 16 years! That's the most life I've ever seen from a battery.

Sun Shades

The new sun shades for the bimini arrived yesterday. These will make sunsets in the cockpit much more enjoyable! We had these designed so that they just zip onto the bimini, so it will be convenient to take them on and off as needed.

Liferaft Cradle

We completed the installation of the liferaft cradle yesterday. It's always "fun" to drill new holes in the boat! We'll put the liferaft into the cradle just before we depart.

Sunset at Anchor

 

We had a nice dinner at sunset last evening...

Bunks are Made

The bunks are made, and we're ready to start sleeping aboard. Now we just need to pick an evening to go anchor out somewhere...

New Galley Faucet

Yesterday's project was installing a new faucet in the galley. The old one had started leaking, and it will be nice to have one with a spray attachment.

Fuel Backflow

I'm still chasing a problem where the fuel drains out of the fuel filter when the engine is stopped. This is the fuel filter 24 hours after running the engine. You can see that the fuel has drained about half way down the bowl, to the pickup point for the fuel filter. I've engaged with a diesel mechanic to help me find the cure for this. This isn't a huge problem, more of an inconvenience really. But, it's the one thing that is preventing the engine from being reliable, so I really want to get to a solution.

First Sail of the Season!

We got out on Silence yesterday for our first sail of the season. We didn't go far, but it sure was a great day. The first order of business was getting the sails bent onto the furlers, and I had help from my nephew, Andrew, for that. We had about 15 knots of breeze from the south, and we saw boat speeds around 7.5 knots. Silence galloped across the bay, happy to be back in action.

Cockpit Table

Over the winter, I applied fresh varnish to the cockpit table. Today, we reinstalled it aboard, yet another sign of spring!

Free Electricity!

We just finished up the wiring for the solar panel. Look at those free amps flowing into the batteries!

Solar Panel

We mounted the new solar panel this morning! This 300 Watt panel will provide most of the power that we need to run systems on the boat, and will reduce the amount we need to run the generator during a 24 hour cycle. Less generator time means less fuel burned, and more quiet time. It's a win-win for the environment, and our quality of life aboard.