Back to Newport

We spent Labor Day in Jamestown RI, had lunch at the portside cafe then made our way back to the Dutch Harbor anchorage and hoisted anchor to make way for Newport.

This was the first time I hoisted the main while the anchor was still set, a technique I observed others using in Cuttyhunk MA.  The idea is that the main stabilizes the boat direct downwind and allows you to sail off directly after the anchor comes off the bottom.  It works pretty well.

The wind was blowing about 15-20 knots, so I put a single reef in the main as I raised it at anchor. Christine sailed off and we unfurled the staysail for a nice comfortable ride out of the harbor.  We tacked against both the current (0.5kn) and the wind blowing now with 25kn apparent close hauled. This is the first time we have heel past 20 degrees with a reef and just the staysail.  It was a boisterous ride up the West Channel with about 7-8 tacks before making the marker at Newton head.  The good news is that with just the staysail deployed we are able to self tack , which means no scrambling at the winches to tack, just steer the boat through the wind and you are off.

We made 4-5 knots at 45-50 degrees to the wind which I consider pretty good performance with the 3+ft wind waves on the bow.  Of course, you have to be patient if you want to avoid using the iron jib which we managed to do.  Once around the head it was a downwind gallop at 6-7 knots with just the reefed main  up.

As we were heading into Newport bay, another boat about our size blasted by us with a full spinnaker flying.  Both Christine and I looked at each other and shuddered.  The boat was vastly overpowered and just waiting to round up into a disaster.  Sure enough, when we got into the bay the boat was rounding up and the spinnaker flailing wildly.  It took them a good 20 minutes to get the boat under control and I think they managed to damage the spinnaker getting it furled on a head stay.  Lesson learned, don't let the boat get over powered.

After a long sail, we picked up some water at the floating water dock in Newport (157gal), then made for the anchorage.  The next lesson learned is how to NOT mix rum and your 4 year old's hobby paints.

It's a good thing they are washable!

Jamestown RI and Dutch Harbor

What a nice passage from Cuttyhunk this afternoon.  We got up in time for church and David enjoyed some personal attention at the Sunday school.  He was one of 4 kids attending, and the only 4 year old.

The service was Catholic,  and it was good to sing some of the hymns from my childhood.  There was no priest, so the homily was the first "communal homily" I have experienced.  There were maybe 30 people and we were invited to share our thoughts about the readings.  It was different and interesting.

After church we said goodbye to Veit and Hansi Mueller from the s/v Atman.  A wonderful couple that we met in Cap May and managed to link up again in Cuttyhunk.  Veit and I also share a professional interest in energy saving.  He runs a company that sells european type LED fixtures in the United States.  Their German accents are wonderful and we wonder what they must think of our Western Oregon DRaawwll.

The passage was mostly up hill with winds from 12-20 knots.  Gypsy Queen really finds her stride when  the winds are at least 12-13 knots.  We ended up on a beam reach into Newport bay area doing about 7 knots and 30 degrees of heel.  This is the first time that we have heeled that far for any length of time.  We stayed on that tack for at least 2 hours and Christine was comfortable resting in the sun on the deck.  Normally that is just too exciting for her, but we are learning to trust the boat even when the rails are getting wet.

This is also the first time that we have broken out the hammock under sail attaching it to the inner forestay and the mast.  I took a turn and my cell phone came out of my pocket.  Miraculously, the phone stayed in the hammock even though it was was whipped around in the wind.

Christine takes the first turn!

There are some incredibly beautiful boats in these waters including fully rigged schooners the the like.

 

We ended up at Dutch Harbor near Jamestown RI (across from Newport) just at sunset.  It is hard to believe that this is just 'life' for us.  Most everyone else around us are on 'vacation' mode and are surprise when we tell them our boat is our only home.  This is Labor Day weekend so by Tuesday I anticipate it will start getting pretty lonely at the anchorage and our thoughts will begin to turn SOUTH.

Cuttyhunk MA

We left Newport on 8/31/15 after we picked up some water, fuel, and a new starter battery.  We also dropped off our life raft which we had pick up in Florida for a bargain $150 without really knowing if it could be certified for off shore use.  It turns out that it can be certified and we have a nice Givens Bouy life raft for the cost of a yearly recertification.  Someone is smiling on use.

Here is a piece of gear we NEVER hope to use:

We had a nice downwind sail to Cuttyhunk MA where we found a community of mostly summer dwelling of the rich while only 35 people stay year around. The one room school house (k-8) has TWO full time students.

We had some nice hikes and discovered a WWII bunker on the West side of the island.  We hiked up there on the evening when the community was going to show an old Buster Keaton silent movie (Cops) accompanied by a live pianist.  It was great fun and everyone showed up and crammed the little town hall to bursting.  We sat on the floor and had a great time.

Newport

A beautiful day of sailing from Salt Pond, Block Island , RI to Newport RI.  We were low on water and in need of some showers, so it was a bummer to find that the "coin op" showers at Salt Pond turned out to be tokens only for the marina guests.  Oh well.  

We grabbed 10 gallons from the hose at the end of the boat ramp then headed for Newport.  They have a floating dock in the middle of the bay marked 'water for yachts' so we bellied up to the bar and took a full load which is 157 gallons.  Nice to have warm showers finally.

The number an variety of boats here is just astounding.  Everything from little day sailors to mega-mega yachts the likes I have never seen before.  Christine did a wonderful job navigating around all the close in boat giving me some hair raising moments as we swung past million dollars yachts missing them my 10ft or so.   I'm just glad she was driving.

It is always a little confusing entering a new harbor.  It is good advise to only do so during daylight hours in settled conditions.

Salt Pond

So we did our longest passage to date direct from Cape May NJ to Block Island, RI about 34 hrs of motor sailing in the Atlantic.  Skipped the whole New York harbor thing since we plan to see that on our way back South.  We had hoped for more wind, but ended up the whole time living with the clatter of the iron jib.  Oh well.

What a treat when we got to Block Island.  Charts and maps just can't do a location justice.  In addition to loosing all vertical perspective, you also have no idea about the people.  This place is one of those East Coast vacation spots that is crowded all summer, then virtually vacant after school starts.  It is amazing to see the number of cruising vessels coming and going.

Saw my first Gunboat catamaran here.  Really quite a stunning boat built for speed.  Just toys of the rich and famous.

Odd how the cruising life style brings together people of all classes.  When we fueled up in Cape May, there was a fellow at the dock who volunteered to catch some dock lines for us.  We got talking and it turns out that he is the president of a company that makes LED fixtures.  Since I am in the energy efficient lighting business myself, we had lots to talk about in addition to our love for beautiful and practical sailing vessels.  Normally we would never had the reason or opportunity to meet.  Now we are connected on  LinkedIn.

So, back to the Salt Pond anchorage on Block Island RI.  This is the very first anchorage that I have been to that has a dedicated Bakery Boat.  You read that right.  The Bakery Boat hails on channel 71 and delivers fresh donuts right to your boat... for a fee of course.  But, still, I just had to order one for the novelty of it.

Great Bridge

So, how to you make a bascule bridge with NO hinges.  Easy right?

We had just crossed the walk way on the bridge when the whistle sounded for traffic to pass.  I quick got my phone in time lapse mode to capture the moment.

The bridge swings on a geared arch with the concrete counter weight hanging above the traffic.  The weight swings down to within just a foot or two of the roadway surface.  The next morning we opened the bridge to get to the Great Bridge locks.

Portsmouth Layover

So, we made it north of Cape Hatteras for the Atlantic hurricane season and it is time to get some maintenance done.  We stopped at a marina in Portsmouth to get caught up.  My maintenance list was a bit overwhelming but we have made some progress.

1) Diesel.  We were getting a black mustache on the stern which means the motor was lugging.  After eliminating the obvious stuff, we were left with getting the injectors testing.  Just today the guy called back saying all 4 of the nozzles were out of spec and one injector was even for the wrong motor entirely.  Looking forward to better diesel days.

2) Refrigeration.  Only partly working.  Turns out the DC motor needed some cleaning and commutator cleaning.  Fortunately I discovered how to do that one myself and save the repair bill.

3) Most the of the Home Depot LEDs I bought to save money have failed.  Looks like back to superbrightleds.com to replace most of the elements.  Christine is looking forward to brighten up our increasing dark 'cave'.

4) Broken passive radar reflector.  The plastic only lasts so long in a salt environment.  20 years seems to be the limit.  Waiting for that one via the mail, then it is up the mast with the rivet gun to replace both the bracket and the reflector.

5) Wind instrument wiring.  After a new masthead wind sensor ($$) in Oriental NC, I damaged the wiring connectors and hand to re terminate all the wires.  Now we have working wind instrument.  YEA.

Just goes to show you that cruising = boat maintenance in exotic places!