9 Days and Still Floating High

The sun has set and now i’m on my first night watch. Ever. I figured I better write something down. But it’s tricky. Cause my computer screen is blinding me and I can’t see the keyboard. Before Michael went to bed, he said that I should only use red lights, so that I don’t lose my night vision. We neglected to consider blue light.

The first fifteen minutes are up! Piece of cake. I filled the first five minutes by putting on my life vest and attaching myself to the boat via a springy tether, (OK, so there are like three bugs crawling across my computer screen while I write this. Not to mention the radio is a constant interruption of ‘securite’ this and ‘securite’ that. Wait a minute, did the boat just get lower? Why am I so close the the water? ) Where was I ? Oh right, I filled the next ten minutes un-tethering and re-tethering myself while I gathered all the stuff from the salon into the cockpit. Book, laptop, tea, binoculars, phone, pajama pants. Did I mention- wait-the second fifteen minute alarm went off. I gotta go do my check.

I dutifully used the binoculars to scan the sea all the way to the horizon and all around the boat. I lied. I forgot to look behind the boat. I also forgot to check the chart plotter and radar. I’ll be right back. . . There is a lot of action. Three boats, three bugs, and many airplanes. The moon is completely full and the expression on it’s face is “I’m pleased in a stuffed with apple pie kind of way.” Only the water is disturbing me a little. Did I neglect to tell you we were motoring? Yup. no wind. The still air is clearly the lead designer of the eerie, extremely dark and smooth water. Often on a nice sailing day, we can see the wind coming across the water. The tell tale saturated ripple effect. Tonight, I can see the darkness coming across the water. How dark can the sea get? Apparently, as dark as a hotel – my alarm just went off. Wait a minute. . .

Holy shit! I did the scan with the binoculars. I saw absolutely nothing except for a ferry that had already passed me south to north. I looked at the chart plotter with AIS and there were not one, but two boats right next to me, port side. A large tug towing a GIANT barge!!! And zooming north to south was another ferry.

Had to stop writing again, swells! Looking for a boat that caused swells. No boat. Feeling jittery. Figured out that I had been drinking from tea cup with lid on backwards for first hour of watch making it seem like I was out of tea from the very first sip. Spun it around, much better. The smoother flow of tea is very calming now.

Saturday, June 30
Dinghy to Jamestown western shore, walk to town on Eastern shore. Ice cream at Spinnakers.  Giant flag for July 4th.

Nap time for Michael who did the 2 am to 6 am night watch. Paddle for Joshua and I. Many creatures in the bog- snails, hermit crabs, orange sand worms, clams. Did you know when a seagull catches it’s dinner, a giant crab in this case, it’s face gets clawed up pretty viciously before it expertly drops the prey onto a rock, cracking it to death. Imagine your dinner attacked your face before you ate it! Geez! Seems like a shoe-in as a method for lowering childhood obesity rates at work. Cooking on the boat is going well. We eat all meals in order of perishability. Spinach wasn’t look’n too good and I was worried about the chicken too. Therefore, we feasted on a chicken and spinach in vodka sauce over pasta- and it didn’t even put up a fight! Enjoyed Jamestown harbor very much. Quiet, friendly place. Tip – if you want to socialize a bit – get a paddle board. Many people chat right from their cockpit when you paddle by- fun!

Sunday, July 1
Motored Jamestown to Bristol, RI, literally zero knots wind.

Hot on shore!  But we were safe crossing the red, white, and blue center striped street while waving our flags.  So cute.

Great walk to Roger Williams University with an unexpected stop at Blithewold Garden and Arboretum.

Joshua was in his element among the multitude of garden specimens and making explanatory, incongruous remarks that made me giggle despite the heat only because he’s a teenager and he was not feigning boredom for two hours! Old lady phrases like, “It’s a hidden gem,” and horticulture geek lines like, “Look at how many begonia species they have!” were percolating from his adolescent, jaw lined mouth. Without a doubt, this is his passion and he’s good at it.

So did you know Bristol, RI is the “most patriotic town in America,” according to the locals? Well, neither did we. But, when we saw the center lines in the street painted red, white and blue it gave us pause. It could be true. Regardless, they do know how to celebrate and we benefited, paddle boarding up close to the shore in the evening to listen to the Jimmy Buffet cover band.

Monday, July 2
Morning jog. Joshua off to Belgrade Lake, Maine. Visit to Herreshoff boat museum. Nice place where you can self tour inside old beautiful boats. Visit to Jamestown distributors. Not nice- Michael was disappointed with the underwhelming supply of boat do-dads. Long, hot walk home to dinghy dock. Swim! Revived! Nice sail to Newport. Enjoying tacking in 9-10 knots S wind. Yay the breeze is back!

Met up with A Capella of Belfast. Patricia and Julian surprised us with Mahi-Mahi fish cakes that were served complete with the story of how they caught, killed (with gin in the gills) and filleted the fish. Very cool!

Tuesday, July 3
Morning paddle through dense fog in Newport harbor- a true haven for sailboats of all types. At least 6 hours missing from this day- where did it go? I don’t know. Sail from Newport to Cuttyhunk, MA, 10-15 knots South wind on the beam. Happy sail up! FOG! Radar!

Tested our fog horn while moving along at over 8 knots.

Wednesday, July 4
We are little low on food. Refrigerator keeps turning off – button in wrong place – defective design (not defective user!). Morning jog- absolutely beautiful, sweet smelling island.

Dirt roads with no cars, lined with sea salt roses and honeysuckle. Delicious!

4th of July golf cart parade. Perfect!

Futzing on boat.  Note, Michael’s improved, off the deck, jack-line setup.

Afternoon visit from fellow Mamaroneck, West basin sailors, Mario and Helena. They are both organic chemists and their boat is named Cypro oxy hecta hexadine. Or something like that. Top of the hill for fireworks across the ocean. Romantic, except for the bionic mosquitoes.

Thursday, July 5
Sad to leave Cuttyhunk as we liked it so much, but happy to be arriving at Block Island. Sailing through fog- we never heard such a busy radio. Radar and radio was the only way to avoid collision! Great Salt Pond in Block Island is a boaters delight. Big, young and fun! Fabulous cliff trails everywhere that lead down to sandy beaches scattered with boulders.

The island gives me a raw natural feeling, yet a three mile walk into town brings you to a slew of good restaurants. Good timing as we are running low on provisions. We splurge on fish and chips and turkey Reuben.

Item broken today- sail cover zipper.
New items made today- four dyneema loops.

Friday, July 6
Rainy day, so Michael decides it’s time for a boat project.  He will add one clutch for the topping lift line, so that he doesn’t need to go forward under sail. This will take approximately 60 minutes and we will depart at 1 pm.

We left at 3 pm. In my opinion, he made excellent time for a boat project!

Considering we are short handed, the project would have been easier if the ceiling panels were tied up so they can only drop so far, so fast.  Adding hidden ceiling panel restraints is now on the to do list.

Things broken today: ceiling panels, two salon lights, windlass, and water pump.
Things fixed today: ceiling panels, two salon lights, windlass (just a popped breaker), water pump (wasn’t really broken, just low on water), and, wait for it – new clutch for topping lift!

Block Island to Ram’s Island anchorage near Mystic, Ct. Not sure if nice sail because for me I was, “in the washing machine,” for its entirety. Will use this phrase moving forward to give credit to the sea sickness I sometimes feel. The phrase derives from a story that my mom shared with my kids years ago. (One I still don’t believe). So she said, one of her cats crawled into the washing machine, or was it the dryer? Regardless, the cat met it’s demise. But I gather that prior to it’s tragic death it had the sensation of being on a boat riding on rollers, against current and wind, in open water that allowed a big fetch, thus producing a fierce headache, nausea and the overwhelming desire to be asleep above all else. Of course, my prayers go out to the cat and I don’t wish to belittle it’s terrible fate, but sea sickness sucks!

The sailor’s reward of powering through a sail seasick cannot be understated- a flamboyant sunset near Mystic Harbor followed by a streaming movie night.

Saturday, July 7
It’s cool, dry, crisp and sunny! Beautiful dinghy ride to Mystic, a town worth the trip for it’s bakeries and great (but touristy) seaport museum. Did you know that Native Americans could see whales spouting from the shore of Connecticut? Incredible.

Happy sail up! Approximately 10 knots from the south on the beam for sail to Port Jefferson. We must head home. I can’t wait to see Joshua!

Sunday, July 8
The wind has had enough blowing.  We motor back to Mamaroneck with plenty of time to enjoy Joshua and trade adventure stories.  We are all still feeling the adventure high.