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Late August - Provincetown to Newburyport

8/31/2007

Lobster Boat off Cape Ann

We finally made it to New Hampshire – by truck, that is. Orion now sits in the Merrimac River, near Newburyport, MA, where Marianna, Merlin and Eleanor M live. Marianna and Eleanor M sit side by side on land, both of them getting fitted out for the next trip south. Merlin is a bit upriver on a mooring ball.

For most of the trip and several days after we arrived, we had only a vague understanding of the location of Mass / NH border. We just knew Pat and Fred lived in NH. Although they live in New Hampshire, their boating centers here in Newburyport. So, our “New Hampshire” destination appears to have shifted to Massachusetts as well. Cruisers are nothing if not flexible.

Getting here

Cathy with some of the Carnival 'ladies'

Provincetown

Our last update left off as we began to explore Provincetown. Its history as a seaside artist community has also made it a center of gay life. Although this connection was something we learned from the guidebooks, it took only minutes to discover it firsthand – the most dramatic examples being the over-the-top outfits the many “ladies” sported. The Carnival celebration we happened on was a celebration of gay pride and its centerpiece was an extravagant parade on Thursday afternoon (our 2nd day in Provincetown), which had a “Fairy Tales” theme (pun obviously intended). It’s hard to describe, but you’ll get some idea from the pictures we include below. (Some of the costumes left little to the imagination, so we had to choose our shots carefully.)

Provincetown also lays claim to a long history, dating back to the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. Although Plymouth is where the newcomers stayed, apparently, they came ashore here first. It was also here that the Mayflower Compact (an agreement on the rudimentary representative government that was to eventually influence the country’s founders) was signed. The imposing tower placed on the high point in town is there to make sure you don’t forget it. Also, in the early 1900’s, before the commercial sailing ships were eclipsed by power vessels, the local Rose Dorothea won a race from Provincetown to Boston, and her lines were recreated in a half-scale model that consumes the 2nd floor of the library. (This “model” is 60 ft long.) The elaborate silver cup awarded to the winner is also on display there.

Scituate

Having made reservations on Monday (August 20th) in Boston, we decided to cross the Cape Code Bay on Sunday and make a quick stop at Scituate (pronounced Sich-u-it). This a small harbor that is a mix of workboats and pleasure boats. What attracted us was the convenience of grocery and laundromat, the latter of which had been a little overdue. We only spent one night there before heading out to Boston on Monday.

Boston skyline from the harbor

Boston

As big city harbors go, Boston was incredibly easy to navigate. There were few big ships and none of them were in motion while we entered. The entrance is dotted with several islands that define the various channels. Since we were coming from the south, we entered via the southern-most Nantasket Roads and then cut north through the Narrows to the more heavily-traveled President Roads channel. To our amazement, we were able to sail almost all the way into the Inner Harbor, where we were to take a mooring ball at the Boston Waterboat Marina. (If we had realized how light the boat traffic would be, we probably would have sailed all the way.)

Our location was right downtown Boston. With Logan Airport’s landing strip on one side of the river and Fanieul Hall / Quincy Market within a block of the marina on the other side, we were in the thick of it. Of course, being in the thick of it also meant that we were a little close to the route of the many ferries and tour boats that traversed the harbor. The definition of a “little close” meant that they would pass between us and the other boats in the mooring field. Dave could have shaken hands with some of the passengers at one point when they passed. One night, the waterfront park at the edge of the marina hosted a concert with a mixture of the Boston Pops Ensemble, a pax de deux from Giselle by the Boston Ballet, ending with a concert by members of the Boston Opera. City life has its rewards.

Cathy had visited Boston as a child, walking the famous “Freedom Trail” with her sisters, (well, part of it) but David had never been there. The first day, we just walked the town, exploring the mix of historic buildings and modern high rises, ending up at Fanieul Hall and Quincy Market. Our second day, we started at the Visitors Center for the Boston Freedom Trail National Historic Site, joining a park ranger who would lead us through the trail, interpreting the history that had taken place along it.

The Freedom Trail is marked by a line of bricks embedded in the sidewalk, which changes into a painted red line as it crosses streets. (The red footprints that Cathy remembered from 40 years ago have long since been replaced.) It starts at the State House, where the earliest signs of the unrest that would erupt in the Revolution began to be seen. The park ranger did an excellent job of giving us the perspective of the evolution of the early Colonial Englishman into revolutionary Patriots. What does it take for a person to turn against his country? It’s an interesting question to consider.

The Freedom Trail crosses from the North End of Boston (where we managed to fortify ourselves with some of the delicious Italian food it’s famous for) across the Charles River to Bunker Hill and ends at the USS Constitution in the old Navy Yards. There were ranger talks at Bunker Hill and an active duty sailor took us on the tour of the USS Constitution, the oldest Commissioned ship in the Navy. It was a fascinating tour, and equally amazing that all of this was available free to the public.

On our 3rd day, we traveled out to the JFK Library, which was an easy subway ride to a free shuttle. It is located on the Univ. of Massachusetts campus overlooking Boston Harbor, with a breathtaking water view. Dedicated in 1979, the library takes you back to the days leading up to the Kennedy presidency, through its almost 3 years and the legacy he left behind. It is a fascinating place.

Newburyport

After 2-1/2 days in Boston, we headed north on the final leg of our journey north. We decided to skip a planned side trip to Gloucester in favor of a single ride to Newburyport. The Merrimac River has a fierce current when it is against you, and we wanted to time our entry right. We left Boston harbor early on a grey Thursday morning and headed round Cape Ann toward the mouth of the Merrimac River. Shortly into our journey, we started hearing warnings from the Coast Guard about entering the river today. The bar that crosses its mouth, combined with east winds and four foot swells was making for treacherous conditions for small craft. We called Fred to confirm that it was wise to enter in these conditions, and he said the Coast Guard was being extra cautious due to a capsized, heavily-loaded 19ft boat the week before. We decided to continue on.

The winds picked up some as we approached the mouth of the river, but it and the large swells we’d had all day were coming at our stern. We couldn’t see anything ahead that told us to change our minds, and we knew the current had shifted by this time in our favor. We were soon to learn what the warning was about. As we came within a few hundred yards of the entrance jetties, the depth dropped to only a few feet, and we were smacked by a wave on our stern that caused Dave to work to regain our course. It was the only one that did that, but we could see why a smaller boat could have been in trouble.

Once inside the river, we passed easily through the opening Rt. 1 Bridge and found ourselves shortly on a mooring at the Merri-Mar Yacht Basin. Fred rode out with Jay on the launch to welcome us in. It was great to see him again. We hurried to get ashore and were reunited with, not only Fred, but Skip and Cherylle from Eleanor M. Pat joined us later when her workday was done. It was a few days before we were able to see Dave and Donna from Merlin, when we joined them for supper.

Pat at work in her truck

Putting Pat to Work

On Saturday, Pat began taking measurements for our enclosure. She took notes on what we wanted and how we used the cockpit for sailing and to access the rest of the deck. We took off the bimini to allow her to stitch zippers on the edge that would be the point of attachment for the enclosure, which she did quickly and returned the same day.

The next day, she returned with some plastic to create a pattern of the enclosure, which would allow her to cut and stitch together the glass and material for the next fitting. We installed the fixtures to ensure that they aligned with the pattern and then she went back to work on the job of building the enclosure.

We had decided to completely enclose the cockpit, and this meant a number of considerations for getting in and out of it. We finally decided to switch the direction of the zippers on the aft side in order to make it easier to exit the cockpit that way. This meant the bimini had to come down again to do this.

While we were waiting for Pat and Angela to construct the enclosure, we took her advice and cleaned and waterproofed the bimini. This required us to take it off and put it back on a third time. We were getting good at this.

On Wednesday, Pat arranged for us to tie up on the dock to enable her to do several fittings more easily. Jay (owner of the marina) made this happen, even helping us with the move from mooring ball to slip, using the currents to navigate Orion sideways in the fairway. It was amazing. After taking another fitting with all the panels in place, Pat made some notes for the final adjustments. By Thursday afternoon, the entire enclosure was done, transforming the appearance of Orion both from within and without. The new strataglass is amazing clear and easy to see through. And the lines of the enclosure are clean and form-fitting to look at. We were thrilled.

As Pat predicted we would, we are fumbling with the zippers a bit and getting used to the need to undo them to get out of the cockpit, but the extra protection they provide is something that will be greatly appreciated as we face the colder weather coming over the next few weeks.

Engine leaks and other stuff

While we were on the dock, Dave asked Jay to look at our engine to check out a few things and suggest changes we might need to make. We had a leak that had just started to appear that Jay determined to be a fuel leak. Also, we had been adding more oil between oil changes that Jay suggested might be caused by the 30 weight oil we’ve been using. We subsequently changed the oil to a heavier 15W40. Next week, Jay plans to zero in on the source of the fuel leak and remove and clean the injectors to see if this, plus the oil change will solve the problem of adding oil.

Skip and Cherylle from Eleanor M

The Merri-Mar Community

It’s hard to describe the welcoming atmosphere at the Merri-Mar Yacht Basin. Dave had only been ashore a few minutes before he was engaged with Skip in a discussion about the work he is doing on the engine. Then he joined Debra to give her an overview of the capabilities of her charting software. This led to many more exchanges of advice and help between Pat and Fred, Skip and Cherylle, Dave and Donna, Jay and Debra and us. We joined a community of boaters for a “dinghy drift” on the river Saturday night, where we tied our dinghy to about 8 others, passed hor d’ouvres and shared stories. Dave, from Merlin took us on an historic tour of downtown Newburyport. We’ve been offered the generous use of Pat’s truck. It’s endless. We have tried, in return, to make ourselves useful to the others here. The effect has been to make us feel at home and very welcome.

Dave and Fred

Sunset over Plum Island

Planning to head south

At one point, we were hoping to head north to Maine, but it’s too late in the season to make that happen. So, we are trying to make plans to head back south, hoping to join some others on the way. We have met Roger and Amy on Shango, who will be leaving the 2nd week in September along Donna and Dave from Merlin. Jay and Debra from Jedora will be leaving about the same time, but traveling straight outside to Norfolk – a little too aggressive for us. And Fred is still considering his plans. We’ll see what we come up with. In the meantime, we are enjoying our stay in this very welcoming community, among many friends.

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Early August - Into New England

8/15/2007

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We’ve traveled the length of Long Island Sound, up the Connecticut River, through the Race, up Buzzard’s Bay, through the Cape Cod Canal and up Cape Cod Bay to Provincetown out on the tip of Massachusetts’ famous hook. We’ve enjoyed our trip so far through these waters that are all new to us. There are many differences, and some similarities to our experiences on the Chesapeake Bay.

PORTS OF CALL

New York - Long Island

We made 2 stops on the Long Island side of the sound.

Port Washington
The first was at Port Washington in Manhasset Bay. The town offers free mooring balls for 2 nights, most of which were readily available on the Tuesday morning (July 31) when we arrived. It was going to be a hot day, which normally would have caused us to take it easy. However, we needed to get a replacement shackle for one that had fallen overboard as Dave re-attached the headsail when it came back from re-stitching. (oops!) So we decided to explore the town and find the promised West Marine that was “a little walk” outside of town. The “little walk” was also a little lacking in shade, but we made it there and back, then turned up the hill and explored this combination of waterfront and commuter town. (It’s only a 45 minute train ride to NYC.) To cool off before returning to the boat, we treated ourselves to an Italian ice. That made the walk worth it.

We spent most of the 2nd day at Port Washington planning our route through Long Island sound, checking on availability of moorings, etc. We decided to stop next at Northport, NY, which was a short trip east, but was supposed to have a welcoming yacht club and a quaint New England town to explore.

Northport harbor at sunset

Northport
Northport was easily one of our favorites ports so far on our trip north. We stayed on a mooring ball at the Northport Yacht Club. With the 90 degree heat during the day, keeping cool became a priority. We took a couple of walks down the tree-lined streets to town seeking shade wherever we could find it along the way (and, of course, the delicious homemade ice cream at Northport Sweet Shop helped). But we could easily beat the heat in the huge pool at the yacht club when we returned, which became our afternoon retreat to cool off and get some exercise in the process. With the launch service, we didn’t have to fool with the dinghy either. This was the life. We stayed in Northport three nights, partially because we liked it so much, and partially because we learned that we might meet the Bravermans there. They were on a weeklong vacation on the sound. We didn’t see them there, but we were too hook up later.

Connecticut – Black Rock and Essex

Our remaining stays on the Long Island Sound were on the Connecticut side of the sound.

Black Rock Yacht Club

We knew that we wanted to visit the Connecticut River, highly recommended by several people we talked to. However, it was a long trip from Northport to the Connecticut River and the prospect of timing the current and the opening RR bridge on the river made us look for a closer port to stage the trip to the river. We decided to try Black Rock Yacht Club just west of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Black Rock is just off the sound, so the entrance was straightforward, but that also made the harbor a little exposed as the winds shifted to the south. The dockmaster put us on a member’s mooring ball however, which gave us a little more protection from the waves. Black Rock also had a complimentary launch, a pool and a restaurant at the clubhouse. We enjoyed cooling off in the pool again. The only disappointment was the dinner we decided to try on Sunday night at the club’s restaurant. Oh well. The view from Black Rock was nice, and there is a nice walkway by the shore, but there is no town or any stores within a reasonable walk from the yacht club. We stayed a 2nd night to wait for some bad weather to pass and then headed to the Connecticut River.

Essex town park

Essex

Although we had recommendations for three different stops on the Connecticut River, we decided to head to Essex, since we discovered that the Bravermans would be there as well. Essex is an historic town, incorporated in 1852, but with English settlement starting back in the mid-1600’s. The town was an important shipbuilding center in the 1700’s. Its most famous landmark is The Griswold Inn (“The Griz”), a restaurant and pub that dates back to 1776. We joined the Bravermans for a drink while we chatted about our experiences and theirs since we last saw them. The next day we took a ride on the Essex Steam Train which took us further north along the Connecticut River, than we were willing to take Orion. It was a nice way to see the river.

Rhode Island – Block Island and Newport

We parted company with the Bravermans again, who headed up to Hamburg Cove for a night before heading back west on the sound. We were instead heading east toward Block Island. This would take us through the Race, at the Sound’s eastern edge and into Block Island Sound, which is bounded by Connecticut, Long Island and Block Island.

House on a hill on Block Island

Block Island

Unlike our stops thus far on Long Island Sound, which were all only a train or car ride from NYC or another major metropolitan area (e.g Essex is on I-95), Block Island is not on any commuter route. Although there are many high speed ferry lines that serve it, they are primarily bringing the many beachgoers who come to vacation on the island, or just spend a day on the beach. This is a family beach resort, and there were enough ice cream shops and T-shirt stores to prove it.

Since most of the island’s shores are exposed to either the Atlantic Ocean on the east or the Block Island Sound on the west, the only practical place to stay is within the Great Salt Pond at New Harbor on the western side. (There is a limited amount of anchoring room in Old Harbor on the eastern side, but it looked very unappealing.) Great Salt Pond is full of moorings. There are 90 town moorings, which we were told were full every night of the summer. There were also hundreds of private moorings and many boats at anchor. We knew we would not be comfortable anchoring here, especially since the winds were predicted to kick up the next day and the water is so deep. We decided to try for a town mooring. If we couldn’t find one, we would simply head out for Newport, our next port of call. When we arrived at 1pm on Thursday (August 9), we were discouraged to see no available town mooring balls. We weaved in and out of the moored boats to try to find a mooring ball that might be free or with an occupant that was leaving soon. Our first and second pass were unsuccessful, although one boater told us that the town would possibly rent us a private mooring ball if we called them after 5pm. That was too late to make us feel comfortable. We decided to make one more pass through the field to see what we could find. Cathy was convinced this was going to be as hopeless as the first 2 passes and tried to begin plugging in the route to Newport on the chartplotter. When we had almost given up, someone on a boat near the back of the mooring field waved to us to say that he was leaving his mooring ball and we could have it. This was unbelievable! Cathy was trying to turn in the tight field to line up on the ball, while giving its current occupant enough room to vacate it. In her haste, she came too close to the boat behind us, snagging their anchor on our lifeline. We disentangled quickly, and moved forward to pick up the mooring ball. The good news was we had a place to stay. The bad news was we had never come that close to another boat before, and Cathy was feeling horrible.

We launched the dinghy, and Dave went over to our neighbors to talk to them about the incident. No one was home, and he couldn’t see any damage from the vantage point of the dinghy. Our lifeline seemed undamaged as well. Dave said that one other thing in our favor was that our neighbors had some weathered fuel cans on deck that meant they might be cruisers and (maybe) a little more forgiving. We decided to go explore the town and see if we could catch them when we returned. When we came back from our brief walk, we hailed the Judith Arlene and told Judy and Ed about the damage. They were extremely gracious about it, but we offered to take care of anything they might find. To our surprise and delight, Judy then invited us to dinner with them and some friends. What a way to meet your neighbors! Not one we would recommend, but they were a wonderful couple and we enjoyed the evening together with them and their friends, Paul and Kathy, tremendously.

Sunset over Newport mooring field

Newport

Newport, Rhode Island is back on the mainland on the Narragansett Bay, a short 25 miles from Block Island. We headed out early from Block Island on Sunday and arrived in Newport by 11am. It is a busy harbor on most days and, on a Sunday, with the Jazz festival underway, it was even more so. Dave was once again at the wheel as he navigated between the huge tanker leaving the Narragansett Bay for the sound and the many pleasure boats heading out to enjoy a Sunday sail. The radio traffic was heavy as well as we tried to hail the Oldport launch for a mooring assignment. After some of the most confusing directions and most disorganized mooring field to date, we managed to tie up to a mooring ball right off the dinghy dock. We headed off into town to explore, stopping at the Seaman’s Church Institute, which offers sailors showers for a small donation and has a beautiful chapel on the 2nd floor. Our next stop was a warehouse sale for Helly Hansen that happened to be going on. Then we toured the International Yacht Restoration School, where some students were finishing up some independent study projects before the summer session ended.

The next day we took the bus to see the famous Newport mansion, The Breakers, which has a breathtaking view of the ocean. The house is huge and its beautifully decorated rooms in near-original condition, giving you a sense of how the upper crust, in this case the Cornelius Vanderbilts, lived at the turn of the twentieth century. I can see why George Vanderbilt (Cornelius’ younger brother) felt compelled to continue the building spree with Biltmore in Asheville.

Massachusetts – Cuttyhunk to Provincetown

Cuttyhunk

We left Newport for Cuttyhunk Island in Buzzards Bay on Tuesday morning (August 14) and were able to sail much of the way. Cuttyhunk is the westernmost of the Elizabeth Islands, which make up the southern boundary of Buzzards Bay. Cuttyhunk is even more remote than Block Island, with only limited ferry service to the mainland. It is a quant island, with a history as a summer resort for a NY fishing and hunting club and then a group of wealthy families who built summer homes here. This was the tightest mooring field we had been in so far, and the mooring balls had no pennants, so we had to navigate the tight field and secure ourselves to the mooring ball with a temporary line so Dave could rig a more permanent pennant. After the Block Island experience, Cathy was much relieved when this went smoothly.

We explored the island that afternoon, and then decided to move on the next day, which would bring favorable winds and currents to travel Buzzards Bay. We initially planned to stop at Onset on the western edge of the Cape Cod Canal. However, the current upon entering the canal was favorable enough, we decided to continue to Provincetown. The only hesitation was that the winds had been building throughout the day. Cathy was a little concerned that they might get too high for comfort as we crossed Cape Cod Bay for Provincetown. The winds were definitely higher than forecast, gusting well over 30 knots, but they were behind us. So we sailed wing-on-wing up the Bay, making Provincetown by 3pm.

Unfortunately, the waves were building behind us along with the wind. Cathy decided it was the better part of wisdom not to turn around and look at them very often. As we made the turn for the final entrance to Provincetown, the waves were a little more at an angle off our starboard stern quarter, but still manageable. Now, the fishing floats were much harder to see as they bobbed in the rough seas. The final mile and half of the trip into the harbor put us abeam to the winds and waves. The water was splashing over the side of the cockpit as we strained to make out the breakwater with the red daymark, which was our landmark for the mooring field. With every mooring ball around us taken and the wind blowing 30 knots, we knew we had no room for error. We would fall back on the boats behinds us quickly if we missed. We had another successful pick-up and were on the ball safely. Why is this always so stressful?

Charts and Other Boat Stuff

Being cheap is a cruiser’s trademark, but we try to balance our “frugal” nature with safety concerns. Our most recent concern that pitted these 2 considerations against each other was concerning the purchase of charts for our Garmin chartplotter. Our model of chartplotter has the annoying requirement that we purchase charts region by region. (Later versions come with all the charts.) In reviewing the charts we needed for the trip, there appeared to be a gap of about 25 miles in the middle of Long Island sound. As we drew closer to this area, which we refer to as the “black hole”, Dave tried to assess what we would be without. Remember, we rely heavily on the chartplotter for navigation. We decided that the area was not one where we would likely stop, so we opted to skip buying these charts. We would rely on our back up paper charts and the electronic version of them on the computer using Mapsource software. The first harbor we entered that forced us to try this approach was Northport. Although Huntington Bay was on our charts, the narrow entrance to the Northport harbor was missing. That meant we had to rely on paper charts, and binoculars more than usual when entering the channel. When this seemed to work OK, we tried this approach again navigating up the Connecticut River. Dave had verified his waypoints on our Maptech electronic charts and we made our way up the River to Essex successfully. Since these were the only 2 harbors affected by the “black hole”, we felt we made the right decision in not spending the extra money on these charts.

The only other boat activities were routine. We changed the oil, refilled with water and re-provisioned in Newport, and did laundry (and more grocery shopping) in Essex. We were once again the beneficiaries of a kind stranger in Essex, who saw us toasting on the sidewalk with our soon to be spoiled groceries. She offered us a ride into town and took us to the marina parking lot. She would take nothing for the ride except our thanks. We are constantly impressed with the generosity of strangers in our travels.

Massachusetts to New Hampshire

If we so desired, we are within a couple of days journey of Newburyport and our friends in New Hampshire. We plan to spend more time in Provincetown, Scituate and Boston first before joining them in a week or so. So, we’ll find out about the Carnival festival in Provincetown and let you know all about it in our next update.

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