Beautiful Day for the Last Leg to Portland

We woke to weather as promised.  Charlie was up first, making enough noise so that we would wake up.  I had set my alarm for 05:00, but Charlie thought we were leaving at 05:00 (there had been a last change of plans as we were turning in that Charlie had not heard).  The revised forecast had a possibility of thunderstorms in Portland in the early afternoon.  Leaving early, we had plenty of time to be on our mooring before the storms hit.  As I had promised our crew the night before, we had perfect reaching conditions to Portland.  We hit a top speed under sail of 8 knots SOG.

The first sight on our course, not far from York, was picturesque Nubble Light.

Looking back, Cape Neddick and the light were lit up by the sun

We continued on our way with great reaching conditions.

By the time we reached Cape Elizabeth, the wind had dropped and we were motoring.

We arrived at our destination, Handy Boat, in Falmouth Foreside, around noon.  We spent some time on the service dock where we met Charlie, the assistant service manager, and discussed our refrigeration problem with him.  Charlies sister came to pick him up while we were at the dock which made his departure easy.  It had been great to have him aboard on our "delivery" trip to Maine.  We met up with fellow Corinthian Bill Kimbell, who had also delivered his boat to Portland early and was on a mooring at Handy Boat.  After moving to out mooring and having a nap, we took the launch in for dinner at the Dockside Grille.

Dinner included Damariscotta oysters for Diane and me.

Falmouth Foreside mooring field after sunset

Diverting to York

We departed CCC with a 10 knot SE breeze...not enough to sail at the speed we wanted.  All models in PredictWind were in agreement that the wind would shift to NW after midnight, some predicting as late as 04:00.  So we set a course under motor heading north, instead of directly to Portland (NNE).  This would hopefully position us for sailing in the new NW breeze.  Our course would bring us just E of Cape Ann, on a heading just east of Portsmouth, NH.

By the time Peter and I came on watch at 03:00, the wind had shifted, but was NE at about 15 knots with higher gusts, not NW, and we had rain.  Looking at updated forecasts, it seemed likely that the wind would remain NE throughout the day and we would continue to have rain for a while.  We were making just under 6 knots motoring.

I decided we should try to sail and we raised the main with two reefs.  Peter and I worked the halyard and reefing lines while Charlie was at the helm.  In the wind and waves and darkness, and with us blocking the instruments most of the time, Charlie found it difficult to hold a course into the wind.  We were often well off the wind, and even jibed once.  The solution ended up being setting up a 20 degrees port relative wind setting using the autopilot with just enough throttle to keep the boat moving forward.

Once we got the main set, pulling out the inner jib was easy and the boat settled to a relatively comfortable port tack.  The bad news was that our course was out in the Gulf of Maine, well south of Portland.  Charlie went below while Peter and I kept watch.  Not long into our watch, the wind speed dropped to 10-12 knots and we couldn’t make much headway with the double reefed main.  So, we took out both reefs and continued sailing, eventually taking over to starboard and heading that would not clear Cape Ann.

Diane posted on Facebook at 05:00:
"Note to self...I don't really love sailing in the ocean. Being cold, tired and bounced around like a cork in a washing machine may no longer hold the same appeal that it once did.
At least it's daylight now. Yippee!"

Have I mentioned that Owl Moon has a rather large tacking angle, maybe about 105 degrees.  She sails close hauled fine, but progress is slow tacking to a point upwind.  It became apparent we should motor towards Portland as we would take too long to get there tacking.  Turning towards Portland, we had to roll in the jib, but the main did not luff when trimmed in tight so we left it up even though it was not helping with our forward progress.  We were motoring at about 6 knots into wind and waves with about 60 miles to go to Portland at about 06:00.

We were just off Cape Ann and hadn’t made much progress in the last 3 hours.  I considered going back to Gloucester, only about an hour away, but if the wind was north of NW the following day, that would still be a long way, possibly motoring to Portland.  Scanning the Maine coast north of us on the chart, York Harbor looked like a possibility.  York was only 25 miles away, much closer to Portland than Gloucester, and the course from York to Cape Elizabeth was very likely going to be a reach the next day.  So we altered course to York and had to drop the main because now we were too close to the wind motoring to keep it up.

Motoring towards York in 20 knots apparent on the nose

On nearing York Harbor, I called the harbormaster to ask about a mooring.  He had a mooring for us and said he would meet us at the York Harbor bell buoy outside the harbor to lead us in and take us to our mooring.

Diane is feeling much better now with the end of the long trip from CCC in sight.

Harbormaster leading us into the harbor

After picking up our mooring and launching the dinghy, we went to the town dock.

..

Locally Sourced Signs

..

We walked into town and had a great lunch at the Fat Tomato Grill.  After lunch, we walked around town and stopped in to tour the Old Gaol, the oldest portion of which dated from 1720.  Back near the harbor, we also took a short walk through a nature preserve.

Charlie had to serve some time in the stocks.

The nature preserve was across this foot bridge where some kids were enjoying playing in the tidal current

Dinghy ride back to Owl Moon for nap time

After rest and a change of clothes for dinner, we took the dinghy to the east end of the harbor where we docked at the Agamenticus Yacht Club (they were closed) and walked to the York Harbor Inn.  The harbormaster had recommended it for dinner.  We had a delicious meal at the Ships Cellar Pub at the Inn.  Across the street from the inn was the Hartley Mason Reserve.

The crew at Hartley Mason Reserve before going in for dinner.

Peaceful ocean this evening from the beach in the outer harbor.

We would definitely go back to York, Maine again!

Why Are We So Slow?

In order to time the fair current through the Canal, we didn't want to get to the Cape Cod Canal entrance until 19:00. That allowed us some time to walk up the Cuttyhunk hill. It was a foggy morning and there wouldn't be much of a view, but going for a walk appealed to us all.  We left our mooring and stopped at the fuel dock to top off our tank and then docked again where we had the day before.  After a walk up Cuttyhunk hill and stop at the market to get a few things,  we departed Cuttyhunk about 12:30.

Owl Moon docked at the empty marina.

View from the road on the walk up Cuttyhunk hill.

View (not much) from Cuttyhunk hill.

Preparing to sail once we leave Cuttyhunk Harbor.

With a brisk SE wind and extra time, I set a course for Quissett Harbor. It is a place I have wanted to check out and the course would allow us to sail on a fast beam reach.

We arrived Quissett about 15:00 and after a quick loop through the Harbor, we picked up a mooring near the entrance. The harbor was as described in the cruising guide...small and well protected. I would definitely stop here for the night some other time. Time for a nap!

Moored Boats in Quissett Harbor

Reviewing course for CCC exit to Portland...yes, we had paper charts aboard!

We left the mooring at 17:15, heading for the CCC. Now our heading was dead downwind.  With some time to spare and what seemed like enough breeze, we set the whisker pole to go wing and wing. I do bow for setting the pole, and on returning to the cockpit, I was discouraged to see our speed had not improved and that we would need motor assist to arrive at the CCC entrance on schedule.

Low visibility as we enter Cape Cod Canal

We didn't want to delay for a slow sail because we wanted to get out into Cape Cod Bay before sunset.  We were still trying to stay ahead of weather. Also, there was a forecast wind shift to the NW and we wanted to get N as far as possible before that happened.

I was a bit frustrated with the boat speed because the speed through the water also seemed slow in addition to the SOG. I didn't have full confidence in the paddle wheel measure of speed through the water and figured we had more adverse current than expected.

Eventually we took down the pole and furled the jibs, keeping the main up until we reached the canal entrance, right on time.  We had to turn upwind briefly to drop the main.

As the current turned in our favor in the Canal, we picked up speed, but I was still not happy with our SOG.  On exiting the Canal, our speed dropped below 6 knots SOG. How could this be? There should not be much current out here in Cape Cod Bay either with or against us.

I could see a smaller sailboat to the NW of us on AIS also going slow...slower than us. I really didn't know what to make of our SOG, but seeing another boat going so slow made me think it might be expected.

I finally decided to put the engine in neutral, we coasted to almost a stop, then I went into reverse and when we reached about 1 knot in reverse, I shifted to neutral again. Once the boat speed slowed to almost a stop, I shifted to idle forward. A float popped up behind the boat! It was the same pattern we had seen in Buzzards Bay on our trip from Quissett to CCC! We had been dragging the float and whatever had been attached to it since before the canal and all the way through the canal!

I don't know when or how we picked it up, but I'm guessing it was when we were distracted from watching while setting the whisker pole. I'm surprised it didn't come off when we turned upwind to drop the main or foul the prop...we do have a shaft shark for cutting lines near the prop.

I resumed full throttle forward and our speed increased to just over 7 knots (SOG and speed through the water). That was good to see! Now we were off into Cape Cod Bay into the night, heading for Portland.

Long Island Sound at Night

Diane called ahead and made a mooring reservation at Manhasset Bay Yacht Club as we figured we'd spend the night there before continuing on.  However, the weather forecast for the next day was for no wind and the chance of thunderstorms by afternoon.  By now, the weather had mostly cleared and there was no indication of any more rain overnight and light winds forecast.  So, we decided to continue on our way, motoring through the night on LIS.  I set a waypoint for the Race, uncertain whether or not we would exit trough there of go north of Fisher's Island.  That would depend on what time we would reach The Race.

The forecast light winds did not greet us at the start of LIS and instead we had 15 knots against the ebb current.  We found ourselves motoring into steep waves and had to slow down and alter course to the left to stop the slamming.  However, I could see on SailFlow that weather stations were reporting light winds throughout the LIS except for right where we were.  After a few hours of slogging (including during dinner), things finally settled down and we had flat seas through much of LIS.

Sunrise in LIS

...

We reached The Race very near the end of the ebb with very little current flowing with us.

Exiting the LIS, I set the next waypoint for Cuttyhunk.  It seemed we had gotten north of the storms and would spend the night at anchor on on a mooring in Cuttyhunk.  In the afternoon, after passing Narragansett Bay, a sea breeze came up and we sailed the last 10 miles to Cuttyhunk.  We pulled into the marina dock at 17:30 (along the dock face, between the dock and the pilings for the slips, perpendicular to the slips that were empty) and Diane jumped off to put in an order for lobsters before the lobster shack closed.

We also had some Cuttyhunk oysters

...

Even though we weren't in Maine yet, the oysters were delicious!

More Storms to Dodge

I wanted to be at the Battery at 6 pm (time of slack before flood at Hell Gate).  That was 40 nm from Manasquan.  Since I wasn't sure what our progress would be with adverse current getting there, we left the dock at 8:30 am, leaving plenty of time to spare.  I also wanted to get going while there were no storms heading our way (there was plenty of precipitation showing on the weather radar).  If we arrived early, we would anchor behind Liberty Island to wait.

By the time we were nearing Sandy Point, we could see some intensity in the weather radar heading our way.  So, I decided to head for the anchorage we had used last year below the coast guard station.  By the time we were anchoring at 13:25, a severe thunderstorm warning had been issued for our area.  We had lunch at anchor as the storm approached, but the main part of it missed us to the south...not much wind and no lighting in the anchorage.  There was time for a nap before we had to leave to make it to the Battery at 18:00.

Keeping an eye on the weather, we could see we would be in rain, but there did not appear to be a risk of severe thunderstorms.  We weighed anchor at 15:30 and headed for the Battery.  There was enough wind to unfurl our big jib (the "reacher")  to help us with the adverse current.  Eventually the wind died and we furled the jib, reaching the Battery at 18:00 as was our goal.

The Staten Island Ferry and Statue of Liberty are not well defined at about a mile away.

.

This tug pushing a barge that passed close by was easy to see.

.

Murky view of Manhattan through the rain as we came behind Governor's Island.

.

Brooklyn Bridge

...

We reached 11 kts SOG at Hell Gate and other places in the East R.

...

We cut the corner at R "48" to avoid this guy entering the East R. at Throgs Neck.

Decision Time...again and again

I was lucky to receive an email back from Chris sunday afternoon while we were getting spotty cell service off the VA coast that let me know to contact him from my inReach via his email address, not his phone.  I had been sending messages to his phone and receiving no reply.

Early Sunday evening, I received an update from Chris that said “Squalls/T-storms to 30-40k likely Mon17 night” if we were to continue on to BI from our current location.

I also received an email response from Chris to my email to him stating that we could not get to BI by Tuesday am that said: “Then the solution is to shorten your trip, and just move up the Coast until conditions dictate you make Port.  This may mean making only day-hops on a couple days this week, or delaying trip.” Between this and weather forecasts we had seen for locations along the Jersey coast, it seemed unlikely that we would get a weather window to go from AC to BI any time soon.  In fact, it seemed like getting windows to make hops up the coast might be challenging.  I decided that we would head for Atlantic Highlands and alter our plans to go up the East River and through the Long Island Sound.

Peter and I had the first 3 hour shift, starting at 20:00.  At about 21:30 we were offshore SE of Ocean City, MD and began seeing lightning to the west.  We couldn’t tell where the storm was heading.  Listening to the VHF weather, we heard there was a strong thunderstorm heading through southern NJ that had apparently come through the Delaware Bay.  We felt reasonably confident that the lightning we saw was likely that storm and would pass well north of us.

As the wind shifted around to more SW, we were heading further offshore on our starboard tack, and I decided it was time to jibe over to port and head back towards the coast.  On port tack were not quite pointing towards AC, but with the continued expected shift towards the west, I figured that we would eventually be making AC.

As the wind shifted and dropped in velocity, we went from sailing to motor sailing to motoring with the main down.  We continued to hear about strong thunderstorm warnings in NJ on VHF and weather apps on our phones (when we got closer to the NJ coast).  By the time we were reaching AC, we had good enough cell service to decide that we could at least make it to Barnegat, NJ and I called ahead to make a slip reservation there.  Then off Barnegat, it seemed we could continue to Manasquan Inlet so made a reservation there and canceled the one in Barnegat.

As we pulled into Manasquan Inlet, we were watching a storm, but it ended up going south of us and we had plenty of time to go the fuel dock to top of the tank before tying up at our slip.  I had read in the cruising guide about the strong current there, but we were fortunate to be there near slack time.  Good thing because as we pulled away from the fuel dock and did a 180 to head to our slip, a fender went overboard.  So, a quick overboard drill was required to retrieve the fender.  Glad the current wasn’t running!

We had a t-head at Hoffman’s Marina which is outside the railroad bridge.  It was easy on and off.  We had a nice meal in outdoor seating at Waypoint 622, a short walk from the marina.  Marina guests receive a discount there.

Looking back out the inlet after entering.

Shots Fired and We Are Off

Our crew came into town on Saturday.  Charlie Dixon, fellow Corinthian from Philadelphia, arrived around noon.  A friend of his picked him up at the train station and then took us on a provisioning run and stop at West Marine.  Peter Bittner, a friend from Annapllis, arrived after midnight due to a three hour delay for his train (he had missed the earlier train due to a bad accident on route 50).

Looking at the PredictWind weather routing and models and NWS forecasts, Charlie and I agreed to depart at 4:30 am and figured we would be in Block Island before sunset on Tuesday.  I had asked Chris Parker for a forecast, but had not yet received it.

Charlie left to stay at his friend’s house in Va Beach and Diane and I walked into Hampton for dinner.  With final preparations complete, we turned in, leaving a light on for Peter.

I woke up at 3 am and found a forecast from Chris Parker in my inbox that included the statement:
“Nasty IMPULSE of energy moves thru E US and may pass just S of NewEngland Tue18, and could bring brisk wind form various directions along with 40k T-strms. I think you may need to arrive BlockIsland before Tue18, then you'll arrive before the inclement weather.”

No way we could be in BI before Tue18!

Charlie arrived about 4 am and we began discussing our options given Chris’ forecast. Soon after he arrived, we heard several gunshots and then people arguing...someone was counting. Then there were more shots.  Someone was in the water. The activity was just two docks over from us. Diane called 911.  Someone else had already called, and police were soon on the scene.  You can read about it here:
https://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-nws-hampton-shooting-yacht-club-20190617-story.html
(or other area news sources)

Needless to say, that activity was very unnerving...making it difficult to focus on our trip planning.

The course to Atlantic City, NJ was not far off the course to Block Island for the first 75 miles.  We decided that we could make our final decision later, but probably head for AC.  I was feeling a bit on edge after the unsettling forecast and shooting and decided I needed to go back to bed for a bit. If we were heading to AC, there wasn't as much need to get an early start.

Surprisingly,  I actually slept for a bit. When we we departed at 6 am, there were still police at the scene of the shooting.

The wind was brisk, as forecast...17 knots,  gusting to 20. We had a fast reach out to the tunnel of the Bay Bridge Tunnel to exit the Chesapeake Bay and up to  the SE end off Cape Charles. After that, we turned NE on a downwind course heading east of the rhumb line to AC (or BI).  Time to put out the whisker pole and go wing and wing. The 2 - 3 foot waves were on our quarter and Owl Moon handle conditions fine with all three sails.  We left Hampton and the shooting in our wake as we enjoyed a beautiful sail out into the ocean.  We had a great sail all day and into the night.

Chris's forecast also said Sunday evening "chance for a few squalls/T-strms to 40k, but most or all of them should pass N of you, wind-chop 7', STRATEGY: brisk downwind sailing."  I tried, unsuccessfully, to contact him for clarification on where those storms would be and how far south we should be to miss them. We were making such good time, I was concerned that we would be further north than he anticipated.  We actually took the pole down for a few hours in the afternoon to slow down.  Since the summary part of Chris' forecast for Sunday evening said "Squalls/T-strms exit the Coast Sun16 evening, mainly NJ/DE" and we were still opposite MD, I figured we would be south of those storms.

Following a tanker out to the tunnel.

.

Crossing over the tunnel.

.

By afternoon, the waves had built...we were enjoying the ride.

.

21 knots of wind with all three sails full.  We saw over 9 knots SOG, but only managed to capture 8.9 on camera before taking the whisker pole down before sunset...time to go on 2 person watch rotation and we didn't want the pole up in the dark and with only 2 on watch.

Northeast Again for the Summer

Our plan for going north this summer was to participate in Chesapeake Bay fleet of The Corinthians Spring South cruise and then split off for Hampton where we would pick up crew and then head for Block Island directly from the mouth of the Bay.

I departed Annapolis on Owl Moon June 4 with fellow Corinthian John Gardner aboard as crew (Diane stayed in Annapolis to attend a planning commission meeting). Diane joined me aboard Owl Moon on Friday evening, and John G drove her car home. Thursday, June 13 we went to Mathews as our last stop with The Corinthians.

Corinthian ladies at MYC

We made good time coming down the Bay from Mathews Yacht Club, covering the 45 miles in about 7.5 hours. We had NW 20 knots with gusts to 25 when we started, that moderated to a comfortable 15 knots. Top SOG we saw was 9.6 knots (the ebb current helped).

During The Corinthians Spring South cruise, I had been continuing with preparations for our ocean passage to Block Island. Now was the time to take care of the last items on the list.  This included putting our liferaft aboard. It had been shipped to Hampton Yacht Club from the service facility in Florida and had only arrived two days earlier...cut that timing close.

This guy was hanging out near our dock much of the time we were at HYC