5 Oct 16; Boston - Houston
5 Oct 16 Our flight out is at noon, so we took it easy in the morning, but finally drove across Boston to Logan International and quit the NE for the year. It has been a relatively short, but good cruising season. We put only 200 hours on the engine and logged just under 1300 N-miles, compared to la...
4 Oct 16; Bennington - Boston, MA
4 Oct 16 Shortly after dawn, we were on the road again, stopping for an excellent breakfast at Chauncey’s Family Diner just south of Manchester, VT. From there, we drove through historic Manchester, back south along the river road, then took an un-paved road east across Green Mountain State Park to...
3 Oct 16; Boonville - Bennington, VT
3 Oct 16 After breakfast at the hotel, we hit the scenic road again, taking back roads along the Erie Canal and through the Catskills back to Kingston, arriving at the marina about 13:00. We spent a couple of hours washing light marine growth off the hull and finishing off a couple of minor chores o...
2 Oct 16; Toronto - Boonville, NY
2 Oct 16 We slept in after last night’s celebration. After an excellent breakfast in the hotel, despite the fact that the weather was gorgeous, we decided to head on back to finish up on the boat. We took the scenic drive back, along the north bank of Lake Ontario to Kingston, crossing the St. Lawre...
1 Oct 16; Buffalo - Toronto, ON
1 Oct 16 It was cool and rainy early on, but we grabbed breakfast at the local Friendly’s and headed to Canada. We made it to the Novotel Hotel in downtown Toronto before noon, freshened up a bit and headed over to Gus’s condo building, where the Logan family is hosting the “celebration of life” cer...
30 Sep 16; Kingston - Buffalo
30 Sep 16 Once again, the Quality Inn failed to produce the promised breakfast, but we soldiered on. We finished up tidying up the boat, then spent a couple of hours wrapping the mast with bubble-wrap and cling film. By 13:00 we were on the road toward Toronto, ON. We made it to a Motel 6 just east...
26 - 29 Sep 16; Poughkeepsie - Kingston
26 Sep 16 We had a quiet night on the PYC mooring ball, but it definitely cooled off during the night - we were under the duvet well before dawn. After breakfast, I spent the morning applying Tonkinois No. 1 varnish to a few spots on the dinghy and oars. Then, I applied a coat to the toe-rails and t...
25 Sep 16; Newburgh - Poughkeepsie YC
25 Sep 16 The day dawned clear and cool with a light NE wind. After our rough nite last night, we were a bit slow getting up, but finally crawled out into the cold at 08:30. We lazed around all morning, although I did finish the cockscombing on the starboard rail. At 12:00, we got away from the dock...
24 Sep 16; Haverstraw - Newburgh
24 Sep 16 The front finally arrived during the night; the wind piped up and we had a brief sprinkle, but otherwise, no big deal - other than the temperature finally dropped down into the 60’s. I worked on the cockscombing on the starboard handrail for a while, then we got away from the dock at 11:30...
23 Sep 16; Liberty Landing - Haverstraw Marina
23 Sep 16 The predicted cool front has apparently stalled a bit to the north, so it is still kinda warm here, with nearly clear skies and a light easterly wind. We lazed around during the morning waiting for the flood to commence up the Hudson, and finally got away from the dock at 11:30. Before we...
21 - 22 Sep 16; Port Washington - Liberty Landing
21 Sep 16 Somehow, we managed to sleep in until well after 08:00, but then got up to a clear-ish, calm, warm day. After breakfast, we spent 2 hours cleaning the entire exterior of the boat; the first good cleaning it has had since Maine. Engine on at 13:00, and we were away immediately to catch the...
18 - 20 Sep 15; Cold Spring Harbor - Port Washington
18 Sep 15 Last night when we got anchored and stopped the engine, the Admiral commented again about the smell of rubber coming from the engine. I agreed and gave it a good look-over, but could find nothing, although I did think that the smell was not quite right for burning rubber, but I could not q...
17 Sep 16; Bridgeport - Cold Spring Harbor
17 Sep 16 We slept in a bit this morning, recovering from our day-trip to the Big Apple. After a leisurely morning chatting with John and helping him pack up, we put him in an airport limo at 12:45 (we sent him off with flag signal hoist WHISKY ALPHA YANKEE “I wish you a pleasant voyage”; he respond...
15 - 16 Sep 16; Essex - Bridgeport
15 Sep 16 We hit the ground running at 07:00, slipped the mooring line by 07:05, had breakfast aboard, passed back under the Old Lyme Draw bridge and got to the mouth of the Connecticut River by 08:00 to catch the second half of the flood tide further up the Long Island Sound. The bridge operator ha...
14 Sep 16; Fishers I. - Essex
14 Sep 16 The flood starts early this part of the lunar cycle, so we got up early and under way by 07:05 (the anchor came up clean as a whistle; a zero-bucket clean-up). The wind was up to W15, and at 08:55 we were finally able to bear away enough to shut down the engine and get the sails up; full j...
13 Sep 16; Block Island - East Harbor
13 Sep 16 We awoke about 07:30 to a cool, crystal clear morning with light southwesterlies. After the pump-out boat finally came around to do its business, we rowed ashore, rented bikes and rode over to the SE lighthouse and then on around the island and back to town. We all took showers at the very...
12 Sep 16; Westport - Block Island
12 Sep 16 John’s alarm went off at 05:00, but it was still dark and we all ignored it and went back to sleep. We woke about 07:00 to a cool, clear morning with light N wind. Away from the mooring ball by 08:30, we motored out down the Westport River and out into the west end of Buzzards Bay. We moto...
11 Sep 16; Cuttyhunk - Westport
11 Sep 16 The front started coming through during the night; the wind piped up to 20+ knots and howled through the rigging and woke me up, but we were rock solid in good old Cuttyhunk. When we got up, it was partly cloudy (at least the fog had lifted), but the wind was still blustery (SW 15 - 20). W...
10 Sep 16; Onset - Cuttyhunk Island
10 Sep 16 Just for a change, we rowed into the dinghy dock and walked into town to have breakfast at the famous Pier View Restaurant; and what a nice breakfast it was. We got back to the boat and away from the mooring after 11:00. After we cleared the end of the jetty at the southwest end of the can...
9 Sep 16; Manchester-by-the-Sea - Onset
9 Sep 16 The tide is fair at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal at 15:35 and it is 49 N-miles from Manchester-by-the-Sea to there, so we were up an away shortly after 08:00. Just outside Manchester harbor, it became apparent that the boat symbol on the chart plotter was not lined up with the real wo...
23 Aug - 8 Sep 16; Gloucester - Manchester-by-the-Sea
23 Aug 16 For whatever reason, we both woke up about 02:00 and could not get back to sleep for a long time; I don’t know about the Admiral, but my brain decided to review all of the bad decisions I have made in my life - and it is a long list! Ah well, experience is the result of making bad decision...
21 - 22 Aug 16; Rockport - Gloucester
21 Aug 16 It was another glorious morning, with a fresh breeze out of the SE cooling the boat. After a leisurely breakfast, we filled up the solar showers (the brand-new expandable hose burst during the process and is now trash) and, after more friendly chats with the YC members, finally got away fr...
19 - 20 Aug 16; Plum Island - Rockport
19 Aug 16 We were in bed by about 10:30 last night and were waked up about 01:00 by what sounded like the chain dragging across the bottom. This was expected after the turn of the tide at about 00:30. However, it kept on going. I got up to check our position and we were definitely not moving, but th...
16 - 17 Aug 16; Portsmouth, NH - Newburyport, MA
16 Aug 16 According to the coastal pilot, it is advisable to enter Newburyport on a rising tide and definitely NOT when the ebb is flowing against an easterly gale. The wind today is E5 and if we leave Kittery at 09:00, we should be in Newburyport before the ebb gets too strong, so hopefully we can...
13 - 15 Aug 16; York - Portsmouth, NH
13 Aug 16 I was rudely awakened at 04:00 by the sound of the mooring ball getting pulled back and forth under the hull of the boat and threatening to knock the anchor off of the bow roller. The flood current was running strong from the SW and the wind was blowing 10 knots out of the E, so the boat k...
12 Aug 16; Saco River - York
12 Aug 16 As soon as the sun got up, it was hot again, so we were awake early again. We still lazed around a bit over breakfast and coffee and finally dropped the mooring at 09:30 and caught the max ebb current back down the river. Back at sea, the breeze was quite refreshing, although, naturally, s...
11 Aug 16; Freeport - Saco River
11 Aug 16 We were up at the crack of 07:45 and dropped the mooring ball at 09:00. It was foggy early, but it lifted inland (i.e., in Freeport), so we were good as we headed SW toward Portland, although we could see it off in the distance where we were headed. At Hussey Sound, we headed out to sea an...
2 -10 Aug 16; Freeport - Portland - Freeport
2 Aug 16 We have a bit of clean-up and chores to get the boat ready to leave for 9 days while we fly off to Taos, NM for the bi-annual Wells Family Reunion on Wednesday, so we got up early (for us) to make the 14 mile run to Portland. And what a long, strange trip it has been, today. We pulled into...
1 Aug 16; Ridley Cove - Freeport
1 Aug 16 A glorious sleep last night, with a light rain about 04:00 to lull us back to sleep. We finally got going about 10:00 and had a nice cruise down Quahog Bay, motor-sailing occasionally in the light easterly breeze, snagged a lobster pot briefly on the keel, but extracted ourselves fairly eas...
31 Jul 16; Love Cove - Ridley Cove
31 Jul 16 Only 20 miles to do today, but the forecast was good again, so no need to rush. The hook was aboard (12-bucket wash down, whew!) just before 10:00 and we motored sedately down the Sheepscot River in light intermittent rain, leaving Small Point and Bald Head to starboard before turning nort...
30 Jul 16; Poorhouse Cove - Love Cove
30 Jul 16 We both woke up at 05:00, but dozed intermittently until 07:30. It is another gorgeous day here in Maine; clear and warm with a light NE wind. Today’s planned journey was only 17 miles, so there was no particular rush. However, we got the hook up (another 10 bucket wash-down; that wash-dow...
29 Jul 16; Maple Juice Cove - Poorhouse Cove
29 Jul 16 The Olson House does not open until 12:00, so we were in no rush to get out of bed. We had a leisurely breakfast and spent the morning reading and playing guitar in the cockpit. About 11:15, we unlimbered the dinghy and rowed back over to John Olson’s dock, tied up and walked up to the Ols...
28 Jul 16; Camden - Maple Juice Cove
28 Jul 16 We were awakened by the 08:00 cannon (seems to be a tradition in a number of Maine coast towns) to a lovely, clear morning, although a thick fog in Penobscot Bay started to work into the harbor at about 09:00. After an al-fresco breakfast in the cockpit, we just sat around soaking up the a...
27 Jul 16; Merchant Harbor - Camden
27 Jul 16 We got out of bed before 07:00 when the wakes from lobster boats out in the channel got too persistent to ignore. The anchor was aweigh just after 08:00 and we motored west in a very light northerly breeze, out through Merchant Row, across Isle au Haut Bay, and through Fox Islands Thorofar...
26 Jul 16; KYC - Merchant Harbor
26 Jul 16 We awoke to a thick fog, but it pretty much lifted in Blue Hill Harbor by the time we were ready to go. We fueled up at the KYC dock and finally got away from the harbor by 09:15. It was dead calm, so we motored south down Blue Hill Bay, but this time on the west side of Long and Tinker Is...
25 Jul 16; NE Harbor - Blue Hill Harbor
25 Jul 16 We were waked, both literally and physically, about 04:30 by the local lobstermen heading out to fish, and never really got back to sleep. But, it is another beautiful day in paradise. After breakfast, we moved into the dock, topped up the forward water tank and washed a week’s build-up of...
24 Jul 16; Tibbetts I. - NE Harbor
24 Jul 16 We were up and away before 08:00, early for us this year. But the ebb was still going in our favor - just - and the wind was NW 5-10, very good. We had a nice sail for part of the way and got to Northeast Harbor about 12:15. After 30 minutes of roaming around the harbor looking for our ass...
23 Jul 16; Lakeman Harbor - Tibbetts Island
23 Jul 16 We were up at the crack of 07:45 and realized the wind was hardly blowing at all and it was otherwise a pretty good day, contrary to yesterday’s forecast of very high probability of rain all day. Anyway, we got going by 08:30 with the intent of getting as far as Mudhole. We departed Lakema...
22 Jul 16; Mink Island - Lakeman Harbor
22 Jul 16 Our night’s sleep was interrupted at about 00:30, when the wind died off and the tide changed, resulting in the boat swinging around, dragging the anchor chain loudly across the bottom and waking us up. I got up and turned on the instruments, but after watching the situation for about 30 m...
21 Jul 16; Campobelo I. - Mink Island
21 Jul 16 The day dawned bright and clear, warm and nearly calm. We got away from the skow about 09:30 and headed down Head Harbour Passage to Eastport, arriving there at 09:33 EDT. Officer Jamieson was at the Customs House to clear us into the USA, after which we walked up to the local IPA for a fe...
19 - 20 Jul 16; RKYC - Campobelo Island
19 Jul 16 We were up at 07:30 to get ready for the off to our down-bound trip through the Reversing Falls. LW slack is predicted to be between 09:40 and 10:40, so we got away from the YC at about 09:00 to make the 5.6 mile run down the last of the Saint John River to the falls. The wind was light ou...
15 - 18 Jul 16; Whelply Cove - RKYC
15 Jul 16 Another beautiful day in paradise, although we had a blustery, rainy night. Better here than the poor folks in Nice, France; our sympathies to the good folks out on the promenade enjoying a summer celebration in peace. We were up and moving by 08:00 and had a hearty breakfast. Just after 1...
13 Jul 16; Jenkins Cove
13 Jul 16 The dawn broke clear and lovely; another day in paradise here in Jenkins Cove. After a leisurely breakfast, we decided upon a scenic cruise to the top of Belleisle Bay and then back down to Kingston Creek. The trip up Belleisle Bay was uneventful but picturesque. This is probably the prett...
14 Jul 16; Jenkins Cove - Whelply Cove
14 Jul 16 Happy Bastille Day. Vive la France!! It was a cool, cloudy, windy start to the morning, SW 15-20. We got going about 10:00 and motored all the way to Whelply Cove, where we tied up to the same mooring ball we used when we stopped here on our way upriver. We had lunch and then rowed over to...
12 Jul 16; Lawsons Cove - Jenkins Cove
12 Jul 16 It was not cold last night, so we slept under only a sheet and a very light blanket, but had to fight the bugs off all night. When we awoke this morning, it was absolutely clear and flat calm - summer has finally arrived. We got underway just after 09:00 and motored off down the Saint John...
11 Jul 16; Big Cove - Lawsons Passage
11 Jul 16 It was still cool, cloudy and rainy, with a NE wind when we woke up, with no indication that it was going to improve, so we got underway before 09:00, headed for Gagetown for a bit of reprovisioning and fresh-water. Arriving at Gagetown by 11:30, we fueled up, watered up, bought a few groc...
10 Jul 16; Colwells Creek - Big Cove, Washedemoak Lake
10 Jul 16 Another beautiful night in paradise, although it rained a bit just about dawn. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and finally got the anchors up about 10:00, ran down Colwells Creek and turned up into Washademoak Lake. The wind was foul, but only NE 6-10kn, so we motored the 8 miles to Big C...
9 Jul 16; Douglass Harbour - Colwells Creek
9 Jul 16 There was nothing to wake us up this morning, so we did not awake until 08:00. The very unseasonable northeast winds persist, so it is still cool and cloudy, although the rain seems to have moved on for the time being. After breakfast, we moved over to the FYC dock and pumped out the holdin...
8 Jul 16; Flowers Cove - Douglass Harbour
8 Jul 16 It was cold enough last night that it was hard to get out of bed, but at least the rain has finally stopped. Flowers Cove is pretty and it was nice being serenaded by our own private loon, but it is surrounded by private property, so not so easy to get ashore. So, we decided to move on. We...
7 Jul 16; Douglass Harbour - Flowers Cove
7 Jul 16 It got cold last night; we had to put both the quilt and the PolarTec blanket on - a cool front is coming through the area, which is going to keep the weather unsettled and cool for a few days. We finally crawled out of the warmth of the bed before 09:00 and after a chilly breakfast, left D...
6 Jul 16; Fredericton - Douglass Harbour
6 Jul 16 It rained a bit during the night, so we had the hatches all closed and it got a bit stuffy in the boat. We were up at 08:00 and took off immediately for Tim Hortons for breakfast and a good grocery shop at Sobey’s, before turning in the rental car. When we got back to the boat, I got to cha...
2 - 5 Jul 16; Oromocto - Fredericton
2 Jul 16 It rained early, so we slept in a bit, but finally got up to take advantage of the showers. Then, we said goodbye to all our new friends, pumped-out the holding tanks and headed further up the river to Fredericton, where we picked up a mooring at the Fredericton Boat Club, arriving just aft...
30 Jun - 1 Jul 16; Gagetown - Oromocto
30 Jun 16 The dawn was beautiful and clear. I topped up the water tank while the Admiral did a bit more grocery shopping. We pulled away from the dock at 10:30 and motored all the way to Oromocto into a very light westerly wind, arriving at 13:05. Dale and Val were there to meet us and we were able...
29 Jun 16; Evandale - Gagetown
29 Jun 16 It was raining again in the morning, so we slept in a bit. But by 10:15, we were ready to head on up to Gagetown. It was only 13 miles, so we were there by 12:30. After a quick lunch, we went up and wandered around town a bit. There is not much to it, but the little green grocer had some w...
28 Jun 16; Whelply Cove - Evandale
28 Jun 16 It clouded up overnight and started raining before we got up, although we were very comfortable at our mooring ball. The rain finally stopped about 09:00, so we decided to get underway the short distance to Evandale. We sailed off the mooring ball and all the way to Evandale with the wind...
27 Jun 16; RKYC - Whelply Cove
27 Jun 16 We woke to yet another gorgeous dawn. After breakfast, we turned in the rental car and got ready to head upriver, finally getting away from the dock about 11:30. We took the scenic route by going around Kennebecasis Island, via the Milkish Channel, then turned up into the St. John River, s...
23 - 26 Jun 16; Dipper Harbor - St. John, NB
23 Jun 16 We had a quiet, pleasant sleep in Dipper Harbour and woke to the alarm at 07:00, followed by breakfast al fresco in the cockpit. LW was at 08:30, so we started getting the anchor up about 08:10. It came up clean and easy and we departed Dipper Harbour a few minutes ahead of schedule. The f...
22 Jun 16; Beaver Harbour - Dipper Harbour
22 Jun 16 It was nice and quiet at the dock all night, and only a couple of fishermen went out early, so we had a good sleep. Low water was just after 08:00, so we got going with the flood just about 09:15 and motored all the way to Dipper Harbour under very light southerly wind. A few miles west of...
21 Jun 16; St. Andrews - Beaver Harbour
21 Jun 16 Another restful night, after the wind died down a bit, but it got cold again (i.e, the quilt and polartec blanket were back on the bed), so we slept in. As the tide was not favorable for getting through Letete Passage until after noon, we lazed around the boat, read, did a few chores and w...
18 - 20 Jun 16; Eastport - St. Andrews
18 Jun 16 We awoke to another clear, sunny day; this makes two in a row, so summer must finally be here. After breakfast, I called Canadian Customs and checked in; we arranged an arrival at St. Andrews at 12:00 local time, which is one hour ahead of EDT. The Customs officer did not even ask if we ha...
17 Jun 16; Cutler Harbor - Eastport
17 Jun 16 I woke up at 04:30 as I could hear “Shelduck” pulling their anchor. After a short debate with the Admiral, we decided to get moving as well, to take full advantage of the flood going up the Bay of Fundy. We were underway by 05:45 and went racing up the coast at between 8.0 and 9.9 knots SO...
16 Jun 16; Roque I. - Cutler Harbor
16 Jun 16 As noted in the Active Captain reviews, Roque Island Harbor proved to be a bit rolly, although I never could figure out where the waves or wakes or swells, or whatever they were, were coming from; but they hit us broadside all night long. We listened to the boom hinge griping all night, be...
15 Jun 16; Tibbetts I. - Roque Island
15 Jun 16 We slept like rocks and woke up to warm (by Maine standards) sunshine. After a lazy breakfast and a brief chat with a lobsterman or two (who came to access the storage boat/barge we were anchored beside), we departed Tibbetts Island and headed for Roque Island Harbor. The wind was fair so...
14 Jun 16; NE Harbor - Tibbetts Island
14 Jun 16 At the risk of sounding boring, it was cold again last night. All the fishermen in the harbor got up and headed out about 03:45, waking us in the process. We finally struggled out of bed about 07:45 and after breakfast, went into the dock for a pump out. We also had to print some forms for...
12 - 13 Jun 16; Bucks Harbor - NE Harbor
12 Jun 16 Hard to believe it is nearly summer; it was cold last night again, with intermittent rain. Foggy and cold this morning. After breakfast, we got going about 10:30, headed for a reputed nice anchorage at Opechee I., at the eastern end of Eggemoggin Reach. Shortly after we crossed under the D...
11 Jun 16; Rockport - Bucks Harbor
11 Jun 16 It was another cold night, low in the mid-to-upper 40s, but the dawn arrived warm and mostly clear. After an al fresco breakfast, we got underway to Bucks Harbor, at the western end of Eggemoggin Reach. The wind was S - SSW 13-17 all the way across West and East Penobscot Bay, and we had t...
10 Jun 16; Rockland. - Rockport
10 Jun 16 Up early to a cool, but clear morning. We got the boat ready to go, then moved over to the fuel dock to pump out the forward holding tank. While there, since we were pointing more or less into the wind, we hoisted the jib. About 11:00, we finally got away from the dock and headed out into...
2 - 9 Jun 16; Glen Cove - Rockland
2 Jun 16 It was clear, but cold this morning. After breakfast, I checked the port/aft toilet connections one last time to confirm that everything is tight. It all looked good, so I screwed the fiberglass panel back on in front of the holding tank; this head is now fully operational again. Then, I cl...
24 May - 1 Jun 16; Houston - Rockland
24 May 16 We are doing things a bit differently this year: for one, we are not starting our travels anywhere near as early as previous years (to avoid the worst of the cold, early spring weather); we froze our butts off the first several weeks of each of the last 3 years, and since the boat is the f...