9 - 10 Oct 15; Portland - Houston
9 Oct 15 Up early again to check out of the hotel and get down to the boat for haul-out. They told us we were on for 09:30, so we ran up to The Brass Compass for an excellent fisherman’s breakfast, then back to the boat for haul-out. We picked up the last of the bits for the safety grab bars on the...
7 - 8 Oct 15; Pulpit Harbor - Rockland
7 Oct 15 Up early, we motored across West Penobscot Bay to Rockland, arriving at 09:30. We immediately started prepping the boat for the scheduled haul-out on Friday. We rented a car, made 3 trips to Hamilton Marine, cleaned up the boat, changed oil and filters, fuel filters, and impellers on the ma...
6 Oct 15; Hells Half Acre - Pulpit Harbor
6 Oct 15 Much warmer this morning; we did not even have to start the generator and heater to get out of bed. After a leisurely breakfast, we let go the mooring ball about 09:30 and motored around the south end of Devil Island, past Camp Island, back up into the Deer Island Thorofare, past Stonington...
5 Oct 15; NE Harbor - Hells Half Acre
5 Oct 15 At the risk of sounding boring, it was cold again this morning. We got up before 08:00 (early for us) to get underway again. We stopped in at the dock to pay the bill and take on a bit of fresh water, then we were away by a quarter past nine. The wind was light - E10 - and we motored throug...
26 Sep 15; Eastport - Mistake Island
26 Sep 15 The wind came up a bit from the NE during the night, which put it right on the stern, so we were awakened about 05:00 by the wavelets slapping on the hull. I was not feeling all that great anyway, so I got up and started the generator so we could run the heater and take the chill off the 4...
27 Sep - 4 Oct 15; Mistake I. - Northeast Harbor
27 Sep 15 Another cold morning - 39F - when we got up at 06:00 to finish the run to Mount Desert Island before the wind got up too much. We had the anchor up by 07:00 and motored SW along the coast, fighting a 1 kn current for part of the morning, except when I could find back eddies and of course t...
25 Sep 15; Grand Manan - Eastport, ME
25 Sep 15 We were up before dawn again to catch the last half of the flood tide from Flagg Cove across the Grand Manan strait to East Quoddy Head and then up to Eastport. We got away from the dock at 06:45 and headed out in the pre-dawn chill; it is definitely getting cooler - 46F as we got out of b...
24 Sep 15; Seal Cove - Flagg Cove
24 Sep 15 I was not feeling too chipper last night and so, went to bed at 20:00; and then slept until 06:45 this morning. We got away from the dock (fishing boat, actually) at 07:30 and worked around the east end of Grand Manan Island, fighting the ebb tide (which arrived earlier than predicted, pre...
23 Sep 15; Westport - Seal Cove
23 Sep 15 We were up early on this first day of fall to depart 30 minutes before HW slack at 06:58; i.e., we pulled away from our dock-mates at 06:30. Sunrise is at 07:13, so it was still pretty dark when we pulled out, but it was no problem. There was a little bit of the flood still coming through...
22 Sep 15; Yarmouth - Westport
22 Sep 15 We had a long sleep and got up about 08:00. After showers and a few chores, we slipped the dock lines at 11:25, just at LW, and motored stately down the Yarmouth River. At the river mouth, we turned to course 346 T and motored on for another couple of hours, until the wind got up to NNW 10...
18 - 21 Sep 15; Clarks Harbour - Yarmouth, NS
18 Sep 15 The Admirals wanted to get to somewhere where we could take showers - i.e., Yarmouth - so we pulled the anchor at 08:45, waved goodbye to “Agapes” and motored to Yarmouth with the flood tide in light airs. We passed through the very narrow and rock-strewn Cockerwit and Schooner Passages, t...
17 Sep 15; Lockeport - Clarks Harbour
17 Sep 15 HW slack at Cape Sable is at 12:45, so we got up early and left at Lockeport at 07:30. The wind was SW 10 - 13, so we motored all the way to Cape Sable, arriving at Little Horse Race off Cape Sable just before noon. We were due south of the Cape Sable Lighthouse at noon and took the inside...
16 Sep 15; Lunenburg - Lockeport
16 Sep 15 The wind and tide were fair for heading down the coast, so we got up early and went. We did a quick circle salute to “Nancy Lakin”, who came in to anchor late last evening, then took our leave, bound for Liverpool. We got the sails up and engine off almost immediately and sailed down the c...
15 Sep 15; Mahone Bay - Lunenburg
15 Sep 15 Happy Birthday to me. We were up and into town by 09:00 to sample the cinnamon buns and coffee for breakfast at Julia’s Deli. John and I hung out and drunk another coffee while the Admirals went shopping. Back to the boat and let go the mooring just before noon and sailed down into Mahone...
14 Sep 15; Chester - Mahone Bay
14 Sep 15 After sleeping in till 08:00, we had a foggy breakfast, then we all rowed over for a chat with Max and Pat and a tour of “Nancy Lakin”. Then, we rowed into Chester and wandered around town for several hours, including lunch at the Rope Loft, very nice. Returning to the boat about 14:45, we...
13 Sep 15; Halifax - Chester
13 Sep 15 We awoke groggily after last night’s fun. It was overcast and cool, but the weather and wind were fine for a departure from Halifax to McGrath’s Cove. I turned in the rental car and got a ride back to the RNSYS, we had breakfast, moved over to the fuel dock to pump out the holding tanks an...
8 - 12 Sep 15; Halifax - Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron
8 Sep 15 We were up early for a run to the grocery store and the map store to stock up on charts for the rest of Nova Scotia. Back to the boat to move over to the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (the “Squadron”), we were just about to pull out from the dock when our way was blocked by a couple of t...
4 - 7 Sep 15; Jeddore - Halifax
4 Sep 15 Another calm, cool night; we slept well. The wind was very light from the N this morning and the forecast was good - N 10-15 - so we got the anchor up and departed Jeddore Harbour at about 08:00. We motored and motor-sailed all the way to the entrance to Halifax Harbour, under N/NE 8-12, wi...
2 - 3 Sep 15; Hartlings I. - Jeddore Harbour
2 Sep 15 The wind stayed calm all night and we slept peacefully. I was awake at 06:30, and as it was still calm, we decided to take advantage of calm seas and head off to our next stop: Shelter Cove; anchor was aweigh by 07:45 (although it came up very muddy and took a while to clean up the mess). W...
1 Sep 15; Liscombe Lodge - Hartlings Island
1 Sep 15 The front came through in the night, as forecast, and gave us a bit of rain and the wind piped up and went round to the NW. Forecast for today is NW 18 - 20, which is brisk, but coming off the shore, will not have much fetch, so the sea-state should be tolerable. And we will commence the “I...
31 Aug 15; Sherbrooke - Liscombe Lodge
31 Aug 15 We slept like babies last night and awoke late to thick fog on the St. Mary’s River. But, we finally got away from the dock about 09:30 and headed down river against the flood, which was no big deal. At the mouth of the river, we turned right into the wind, which was blowing SW 14 - 18, fo...
29 -30 Aug 15; Yankee Cove - Sherbrooke
29 Aug 15 Never before in the course of my long and eventful life have I been thrice awakened in the night by the call of the loon …. until last night. I have a new appreciation for the term “crazy as a loon”. It was calm all night and when we awoke, the glass was up to 1013 mb, and still calm. We g...
28 Aug 15; St. Peters - Yankee Cove
28 Aug 15 After last night’s torrential rain-fall, we awoke to sunshine, light NW winds and everything above deck soaked and clean. We wanted to lock through at the same time as “Yankee Lady”, so we left the dock at 08:00; “Daybreak”, out of Mahone Bay, was also with us in the lock. “Yankee Lady” an...
27 Aug 15; Johnstown Harbour - St. Peters Marina
27 Aug 15 It was calm overnight, but the wind started getting up, as forecast, at 08:00. But it was a good direction for us to fetch down to St. Peters to be ready for tomorrow’s planned crossing of Chedabucto Bay and the commencement of our run along the iron-bound coast of Nova Scotia. We got the...
26 Aug 15; Maskells Harbour - Johnstown Harbour
26 Aug 15 Not quite as windy today as yesterday and even a bit of sunshine, so we got the anchor up at 09:30 and headed south thru the Barra Strait Bascule Bridge and on to Johnstown Harbour. The wind was E 8 - 12, so we had a nice sail after the bridge, close reaching to within 0.5 mile of the entr...
24 - 25 Aug 15; Baddeck - Maskells Harbour
24 Aug 15 Intermittent rain during the night kept it cool, and we slept very well. We said goodbye to “Yankee Lady” (they are heading back to Cape Cod), did a quick grocery run after breakfast, then turned in the rental car and walked up to the Alexander Graham Bell museum, run by Parks Canada. Bell...
19 - 23 Aug 15; Denys Basin - Baddeck
19 Aug 15 Denys Basin was another perfect anchorage and we woke to another beautiful dawn. Anchor was aweigh by 09:00 and we cruised back through the islands and out to the main body of Bras d’Or Lake under power as the wind was light. We passed under the Barra Strait bascule bridge and then pulled...
18 Aug 15; Crammond Islands - Denys Basin
18 Aug 15 It was a lovely, cool, quiet night and we slept in again. The anchor finally came up just before 10:00 and we made our way north, meandering through Clark Cove, past Marble Mountain, past Militia and Malagawatch Points, finally turning back to the west into Denys Basin, reportedly a good p...
17 Aug 15; St. Peters - Crammond Islands
17 Aug 15 Slept in till 08:20. Short run to the grocery store and the pharmacy (for a chart), then we finally got away from the dock at about 12:00. The wind was light, but we sailed anyway, having no fixed destination, until the wind died altogether about 15:00. We motored on the last few miles to...
16 Aug 15; Little Basin - St. Peters
16 Aug 15 The wind died completely during the early evening, so it was absolutely silent on the boat (first time I could hear the ship’s clock ticking), until 03:00, when our daughter accidentally butt-dialed us. After we made contact and confirmed there was no emergency pending, sleep was a long ti...
15 Aug 15; Ballantynes Cove - Little Basin
15 Aug 15 Another lovely night in paradise, followed by a beautiful morning; the summer continues. We got away from the dock before 09:00. The wind was fair and strong enough that we had the sail up and the engine off within minutes; we sailed all the way across St. Georges Bay to the north end of t...
14 Aug 15; Pictou - Ballantynes Cove
14 Aug 15 We slept like logs and woke up refreshed. After breakfast, we walked around Pictou some more, then headed to the Hector Museum of Scottish Heritage (or something like that), which commemorates the 1773 journey of 200-odd Scots men, women and children from the Highlands of Loch Broom to Pic...
13 Aug 15; Charlottetown - Pictou
13 Aug 15 We woke to a cool, overcast morning with light SW wind. Away from the dock by 08:30, we motored out through Charlottetown Roads and into the Northumberland Strait, where the wind freshened enough that we were able to sail for a bit. But, primarily, we motored sailed the 44 miles to Pictou...
7 - 12 Aug 15; Summerside - Charlottetown
7 Aug 15 The wind and forecast was fair for Charlottetown, so we slipped our dock lines at 08:00 and were away to the west, sailing and motoring without incident to the Charlottetown Yacht Club. Our old dock partner “Aurora” (from Quebec City and Tadoussac) was waiting for us at the YC. We found out...
5 - 6 Aug 15; Bouctouche - Summerside
5 Aug 15 Summer Day 6: Bouctouche was beautiful in the morning, but the wind was fair for moving, so we got underway for Shediac before 10:00. The sail was up within minutes and as the run down the river was on a good heading, we got the spinnaker up almost immediately, although it came down after 3...
4 Aug 15; Escuminac - Bouctouche
4 Aug 15 Summer 2015 - day 5; it started well, again. We were away from our raft to the fishing boat before 08:00 and motor-sailed and sailed down the New Brunswick coast to the entrance to Bouctouche; there are numerous shoals off the mouth of the river, so you have to pay attention, but it was eas...
3 Aug 15; Miramichi - Escuminac
3 Aug 15 The 4th day of summer dawned clear and warm. We had a leisurely breakfast and walked into town to see if the hardware store was open; but of course, it is New Brunswick Day, so nothing is open, it being a Sunday. On the way back, we stopped in to check out the Folk Festival breakfast. There...
1 - 2 Aug 15; Baie du Vin - Miramichi
1 Aug 15 We had a glorious sleep and woke to a glorious morning: warm, clear skies - summer is finally here, maybe. It turns out our quiet little anchorage is quite the weekend hangout, because about 10:00, power boats of every description and jet skis started to arrive, all loaded to the plimsoll l...
31 Jul 15; L'Anse a Beaufils - Baie du Vin
31 Jul 15 The alarm shrieked us awake at 03:45, so we leapt (or was it crawled) out of bed and got under weigh at 04:27. The wind was light southerly, but a nasty swell persisted from yesterday’s winds, so it was a very lumpy ride, with which the Admiral was not pleased. But, she is a trooper, so we...
29 Jul 15; Gaspe - L'Anse a Beaufils
29 Jul 15 A beautiful morning awaited us when we got up. Forecast looked good, so we took off just after 09:00 for L’Anse a Beaufils. For once, the wind was good right from the start and within quarter mile of leaving the marina, we had full sail up, engine off and were making for the opening of the...
27 - 28 Jul 15; Riviere-au-Renard - Gaspe
27 Jul 15 My weather forecasting has now reduced to looking out the window in the morning. It was just fine outside when we got up, so, having sampled the delights of Riviere-au-Renard, we decided to move on to Gaspe. We got under way about 10:00. Outside the harbor wall, the wind was, of course sma...
26 Jul 15; Riviere-la-Madeleine - Riviere-au-Renard
26 Jul 15 The promised Katabatic wind never really developed last night, which is just as well. In the morning, the wind appeared to be light SW (perfect), although the marine forecast was E 10 - 20 (right on the nose - again - and kinda rough). But, it was clear and we decided to go on and head the...
25 Jul 15; St. Anne-des-Monts - Riviere-la-Madeleine
25 Jul 15 When we went to bed last night, the forecasts generally were not very promising for today: E 10 - 20 kn. At 07:00, the forecast was the same, but the actual wind was W 2, with a bit of fog in the distance. By 09:00, when the Admiral got back from a quick run to the grocery store, the fog h...
24 Jul 15; Rimouski - St. Anne-des-Monts
24 Jul 15 When I woke up at 06:00, the forecast showed NE 4. When we got up just before 08:00, it was the same, so we decided to go for St. Anne-des-Monts. Unfortunately, it was a bit lumpier than I had anticipated, what with the persistent NE winds of the last two days, so the Admiral was not a hap...
23 Jul 15; Rimouski - Matane
23 Jul 15 Cold and fog were the order of the day when we got up, but the winds were forecast to be favorable, so, about 09:00 we got under weigh. Offshore, the fog was even thicker, at times down to just a couple hundred yards, but at least we did not have to worry about lobster traps, lobster fishe...
22 Jul 15; Tadoussac - Rimouski
22 Jul 15 Finally, the rain has stopped for a while. As forecast, the wind has swung round to the SW and it is reasonably clear; at least no fog within sight. We pulled away from the dock at 08:20 and headed out into the stream. Right outside of Tadoussac, we saw loads of Beluga whales again. Within...
20 - 21 Jul 15; Baie Eternite - Tadoussac
20 Jul 15 It was a dark and stormy night last night. After sunset, with the heavy overcast and no moon, it was dark as a tomb outside. And about 02:00, it commenced to thunder and lightning like nobody’s business and woke us both up. There were a couple of strikes close by, but Neptune or Zeus, or w...
19 Jul 15; l'Anse St. Jean - Baie Eternite
19 Jul 15 Although it was still quite cool (13 C) and heavily overcast with low, scudding clouds in the morning, the rain looked like it would hold off for the day, so after chatting with some of our dock neighbors and getting advice about likely anchorages and spots to visit in Saugenay, we pulled...
17 - 18 Jul 15; Cap-a-l'Aigle - l'Anse St. Jean
17 Jul 15 The tide called for a 07:43 departure, so we were up at 06:45. The day was clear and cool, but completely calm. We were away from the dock on schedule and motored out onto an absolutely glassy sea. Just off Gros Cap-a-l’Aigle, about 3 miles north of our departure, we spotted numerous Belug...
16 Jul 15; Quebec City - Cap-a-l' Aigle
16 Jul 15 Up at 04:15 to make an 05:00 start to catch the best tidal current from Quebec City to Cap-a-l’Aigle (which means Cape of the Eagle to all you non-Francophones), we had a quick breakfast and were off before sunrise. We bucked the last of the flood for the first two hours, averaging speeds...
8 - 15 Jul 15; Trois - Rivieres - Quebec City
8 Jul 15 It was stormy during the night (not in the forecast, by the way), so it was just as well we were tied up happily in the marina, rather than swinging on an anchor somewhere. We slept in, then, after breakfast, I got a bit more wax on the starboard side, before it was time to go. We cast off...
7 Jul 15; Montreal - Trois Rivieres
7 Jul 15 We were up just after 04:00 to get Ashley up and down to the bus stop (again) to catch the express to the airport for her 07:15 departure. After we loaded her on the 04:58 bus, we went back to the boat and crawled back in bed for a few more hours of sleep. We finally got up about 08:30 and...
29 Jun - 6 Jul 15; Salaberry-de-Valleyfield - Montreal
29 Jun 15 Big day planned today, so we were up at the crack of dawn, or 06:00. After a quick breakfast, we got away from the dock at 07:00 and headed for the St. Lawrence. We fell in behind “Kaministiqua”, a Great Lakes freighter, which helped us get under the first two lift bridges, and were right...
28 Jun 15; Marina Valleyfield
28 Jun 15 The forecast for today is pretty much 100% rain. It started raining during the night and the wind came up a bit. In anticipation of the forecast, I took the precaution on Friday of booking a slip on Sunday, so, about noon, we moved over to the Marina Valleyfield for the night. It rained al...
26 - 27 Jun 15; Crysler Park - Salaberry-de-Valleyfield
26 Jun 15 We were up early for the off to Salaberry-de-Valleyfield via the two American locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway; we cast off from Crysler Park Marina at 08:00. The weather was clear, cool and nearly calm, with a light E 4 wind. With the current behind us, we made it the 11 N-m to the Eisenh...
24 - 25 Jun 15; Prescott - Crysler Park
24 Jun 15 Having exhausted the delights Prescott, we decided to press on downriver and through our first St. Lawrence Seaway lock. The dock lines were slipped at 08:08 and we motored out into the stream. The wind was light, so we motored all day, first 10 miles to the Iroquois Lock, where we were lo...
23 Jun 15; Brockville - Prescott
23 Jun 15 It rained during the night and was cool, rainy and blustery in the morning when we got up. We got away from the dock at 10:35 and sailed under jib alone, with a following wind - WSW 20, the 10 miles to Prescott, where we tied up at Sandra S. Lawn Harbor and Marina at 12:45. We walked up to...
22 Jun 15; Gananoque - Brockville
22 Jun 15 The day dawned clear and fresh and the forecast is good for heading down-river; we got underway, after extended good-byes to Yves and Teresa (“Nanjabar IV”), our dock-mates from Montreal, at 10:00. We took the scenic route via the Navy Islands, Sherbrooke Islands, under the Canadian span o...
19 - 21 Jun 15; Bloodletter I. - Gananoque, ON
19 Jun 15 The predicted cool front came through at about 03:00; not too much wind (N10 - 16), but enough to swing the boat around and cause a bit of pitch and roll, so not much sleep after that, as the shore was very close on the lee side. Nevertheless, we got up to a beautiful morning. After a very...
18 Jun 15; Aubrey I. - Bloodletter Island
18 Jun 15 The dawn broke clear and lovely. After a leisurely breakfast, we went for a hike around the island, about a mile altogether. Then, we decided to move the boat to another island. The wind was fair for Thwartaway (aka Leek) Island, so we sailed past the mooring field there, but it looked a b...
17 Jun 15; Kingston - Aubrey Island
17 Jun 15 Slept in a bit after last night’s celebration. We had breakfast at Pan Chancho and then went grocery shopping at Price Chopper and LCBO; we are all good now for a few days (interestingly, Bombay Sapphire costs only CAN$1 more than Gordon’s, although they are both outrageously expensive com...
14 - 16 Jun 15; Oswego - Kingston, ON
14 Jun 15 The alarm ripped our dreams apart at 06:00, so we leapt out of bed like startled gazelles (or, perhaps groggy sloths is more apt) and got ready for the crossing of the notorious Lake Ontario. We cleared the dock just at 07:00 and motored out into the lake, which was glassy smooth. And, so...
11 - 13 Jun 15; Oswego - marina
11 Jun 15 We locked through the final lock on the Oswego Canal - Lock 8 - at about 08:45, and after re-fueling and pumping out, were in our slip by 10:00. The mast and boom and here and in good shape. I spent the rest of the morning and half the afternoon reinstalling the spreaders, the wind indicat...
10 Jun 15; Brewerton - Oswego
10 Jun 15 After yesterday’s excitement, we were a bit slow getting moving, and the good folks at the marina were a bit slow opening up, so we did not get away from the dock until after 09:30. We transited our last lock (Lock E-23) on the Erie Canal and, at Three Rivers Junction, turned right onto th...
9 Jun 15; Rome - Brewerton
9 Jun 15 Despite last nights libations, we were up and away at 08:00, watching the weather. It was only 2 hours to Sylvan Beach, on the east end of Lake Oneida, and a line of thunderstorms were due some time in the early afternoon. When we got to Sylvan Beach, it looked like we would have time to ge...
8 Jun 15; Ilion - Rome
8 Jun 15 More rain during the night, so we (or at least I) ended up sleeping in until 08:00. We got away from the dock about 09:15 and motored another 24 N-miles, through 2 locks, to Rome, NY, where we tied up at their free dock about 14:00. We were going to go into town for a look at Fort Stanwix,...
7 Jun 15; Canajoharie - Ilion
7 Jun 15 Awakening early to a beautiful, clear, cool morning, we cast off at 08:15 and headed on through the Erie Canal/Mohawk River Valley, through 5 more locks and 27 N-miles to Ilion. Locks have become a bit “old hat” now to us veterans, but Lock 17 was special: 44 ft lift and the downstream gate...
6 Jun 15; Amsterdam - Canajoharie
6 Jun 15 D-Day, 71 years ago today, lest we forget. We had a restful night, with a bit of rain, but the dawn was cool and dry, with a bit of overcast. About 09:30, we tossed off the dock lines, and, in company with “Significant Other”, made a gentle passage another 21 miles, passing Fonda (family ho...
5 Jun 15; Schenectady - Amsterdam
5 Jun 15 Light rainfall at dawn, so we rolled over and went back to sleep, till 08:00. We finally got rolling about 10:00 and moved on another 20 miles or so and 3 more locks, and stopped for the night in Amsterdam, NY (family home of Kirk Douglas). It used to be a prosperous place, until the Mohawk...
4 Jun 15; Waterford - Schenectady, NY
4 Jun 15 Cold and overcast at dawn, but we got up anyway to get ready to take on the Waterford Flight: 5 locks (1 right after the other), covering a distance of 1.5 miles horizontally and lifting the boat 169 feet over the Hudson Escarpment and around the Coho Falls on the Mohawk River. After we cle...
3 Jun 15; Troy - Waterford
3 Jun 15 A gorgeous dawn, but we were still up too late to see the “Pinta” and “Nina” pull out. Bon voyage to them. After breakfast, we went for a stroll around town. Primarily, up the hill (400 ft of elevation change) to the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A beautiful campus and the old...
2 Jun 15; Catskill - Troy
2 Jun 15 Finally, the rain has stopped. We got out and walked around town for a bit and got back to the boat about lunch time. The mail finally caught up with us, including the long-awaited CANPASS certificates. So, we decided to move on north. We motored the 35 miles to Troy, with the tide most of...
30 May - 1 Jun 15; Hyde Park - Catskill
30 May 15 Slept like lambs last night. We were up fairly early and had breakfast and coffee watching a beautiful morning. About 08:20, the tide started to run north, so we loosed the mooring lines and headed up the Hudson. To starboard, it was one estate (owned or formerly owned by the uber-rich) af...
28 - 29 May 15; Cornwall - Hyde Park
28 May 15 We awoke early to the dulcet tones of the Hudson Valley RR engine #65 southbound past Cornwall. After breakfast, we were anchor aweigh by 8:30 and motored the 20 N-miles to Hyde Park. We picked up a mooring ball at Hyde Park Landing at 11:30, had lunch on the boat, then walked up to the Va...
27 May 15; Croton-on-Hudson - Banneman's Castle
27 May 15 After a pleasant night’s sleep, we decided to move on up the river and departed the marina just after 09:00. Out in Haverstraw Bay there was a nice breeze, so we decided to sail; full jib and main. About 10:15, the wind was consistently at our back, so I thought it would be nice to get the...
26 May 15; Port Washington - Croton-on-Hudson
26 May 15 Blimey, that was a long day. We were up before 06:00 to catch the (favorable) ebb tide through the East River, departing Manhasset Bay at 06:45. For some reason, one of the multi-function displays (MFD) would not work at all today (one more intermittent electronic fault to chase down), alt...
20 - 25 May 15; Mt. Sinai - Port Washington
20 May 15 We left Mt. Sinai just before 09:00 to catch the flood tide up Long Island Sound. Unfortunately, the wind was essentially right on the nose - WNW 10 - 15. After about an hour, the wind was WNW 15 - 20, with gusts to 24. With the wind against the tide, the 2-3’ seas were very short period (...
19 May 15; Greenport - Mt. Sinai
19 May 15 To catch the flood up Long Island Sound, we were up before 06:00 (ugh!). We let go the dock lines at 06:50 and motored east to Plum Gut, which connects Gardiners Bay to Long Island Sound. The wind was very light so we motored all day, arriving at Mt. Sinai Harbor, where we took a mooring b...
18 May 15; Sag Harbor - Greenport
18 May 15 It seems that summer is over; a “back-door” cold front (whatever that is) came through last night and it got cool and windy during the night and it was pea-soup foggy in the early morning. We only have 11 miles to go today, so we slept in. We finally let go the mooring ball at 11:00 and mo...
17 May 15; Montauk - Sag Harbor
17 May 15 Awoke to sunshine and light SW winds, so we decided to head for Sag Harbor, NY. The wind was on the nose all the way, so we motored the full distance arriving at Sag Harbor at noon. En route, we traversed Napeague Bay and Gardiners Bay to the south of Gardiners Island, and finally entered...
16 May 15; Block I. - Montauk
16 May 15 Up this morning to a cool, cloudy, rainy morning, but the wind forecast was favorable (or at least not bad) for our planned run to Montauk, NY. So, we up and left shortly after 09:00. At the start the wind was a bit too fine on the bow to get a sail up, so we motored the first half of the...
14 - 15 May 15; Pt. Judith - Block Island
14 May 15 We had a good sleep at the dock and were up in time for a 09:30 departure. The wind was very light and right behind us, so we motored the 13 N-miles to Block Island, tying up to a mooring ball in Great Salt Pond just before noon. After lunch, we rowed ashore and walked around the south end...
13 May; Jamestown - Pt. Judith
13 May 15 The cold front arrived during the night and the wind gusted up sharply, waking us both about 01:00, but nothing came loose and we soon went back to sleep. When we got up, the wind was NW 10 - 15, but shifting around to W more or less as predicted, so, about 10:00 we got under way. Because...
9 - 12 May 15; Clarks - Clarks
9 May 15 Your vicarious cruising is probably more fun than our actual cruising, at this point in time. This was not a good day, although I hasten to add that we are still afloat, so I suppose it could have been much worse. We awoke to a fogless morning and the wind NE 8 as predicted - i.e., perfect...
7 - 8 May 15; Boatyard - Mooring
7 May 15 Today, we checked out of the hotel and moved onto the boat. “c’est le bon” was re-launched at 09:45 and installed on a Clark’s Boatyard mooring ball about 400 yards from the dock. After dropping me off at the boatyard, the Admiral drove over to Jamestown to do laundry and get in a major sho...
5 - 6 May 15; Carney's Pt. - Jamestown, RI
5 May 15 Happy Cinco de Mayo. We finished our epic drive from Texas to Rhode Island today, traversing New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and half of Rhode Island. We made it to beautiful Jamestown, situated in the middle of the Narragansett Bay on lovely Conanicut Island just after 15:00. Today’s dri...
4 May 15; Harrisonburg - Carney's Point
4 May 15 This time, we really were up at the crack of dawn - 06:15, anyway. After a quick breakfast, we back-tracked a few miles down I-81, and then turned east on I-64 to Charlottesville and Monticello, Jefferson’s home. We did a quick tour of the house, outbuildings and garden (a very pleasant tou...
3 May 15; Johnson City - Harrisonburg
3 May 15 Up at the crack of 8:00, we went to the Quality Inn lobby for our “free” breakfast, but the TV was tuned to a hollering, fanatical Pentecostal preacher, so we left without breakfast and went to Starbucks. Then, on the road thru Bristol. Just past Wytheville, VA, we decided to get off the in...
2 May 15; Nashville - Johnson City
2 May 15 On the road again; today, we drove non-stop from Nashville to Johnson City, TN, taking a slightly scenic route the last 60 miles or so. After we checked into the hotel and cleaned up a bit, we got a taxi into historic downtown Johnson City, had an excellent dinner at “Label”, watched the Ke...
30 Apr - 1 May 15; Little Rock - Nashville
30 Apr 15 We drove on to Nashville, TN today. We will be here for a couple of days, visiting an old friend from London days, who recently lost her 41-year-old daughter to an unexpected pulmonary embolism. She left 2 children at home and Becky has been looking after them until the school year ends an...
29 Apr 15; Houston - Little Rock
29 April 15 Well, our bags are packed and we are ready to go. The long winter break has finally come to an end. We have closed up the house and loaded the new dinghy “Swallow” into a rented Penske truck, along with a few other boat trinkets and now it is time to drive the 1800 miles to Jamestown, RI...