Don't forget that you can see our current position and track on the Delorme site.
We typically turn on the satellite tracker which posts a position every hour while we are under way.
https://share.delorme.com/fishbaugher
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Newport RI Fort Adams
It is hard to get used to just how much sailing is done around here. On the West coast it is unusual to see a boat under sail. Here, they are everywhere in every shape and size. I am especially impressed with the schooners that are sailing with tourists all day long. Other places, you can see they leave the engine on. Not here. The crew sails right off the dock and through the mooring field.
We went to Fort Adams today in the dingy and I managed to take a pretty impressive shot with beautiful boats, sky, bridge, and David in the foreground. It almost looks like I know something about photography. Which officially I do not. Click on the photo to get a bigger view.
Later we watched woman's rugby on the Fort Adams rugby pitch (not a typo). Very odd. May never see that again in my LIFE!
We went to Fort Adams today in the dingy and I managed to take a pretty impressive shot with beautiful boats, sky, bridge, and David in the foreground. It almost looks like I know something about photography. Which officially I do not. Click on the photo to get a bigger view.
Davids new Toy
Newport RI Sunset
Yesterday in Newport was a study in contrasts. We were rudely awoken early AM with the boat bucking and rolling bad enough to disturb sleep. We forged on and stayed in bed as best we could. Winds were out of the NW which is the worst quadrant for the Newport anchorage. Hence the rocking and rolling.
We were scheduled to pick up a technician to work on the water maker that day, but it would have been a bit of a wet and wild ride, so we called it off. Probably a God thing, since later in the day I did some disassembly myself and think I found my problem. It remains to be seen if I can fix it.
Later yesterday, the winds finally died down and we were able to make it into town to do our laundry and some more wandering around. All of the high price water front restaurants and bars are down on the water and I have to wonder what all the high class folks thought of us hauling laundry in our little dinghy. Judging from the smiles and waves, I think we were in good company.
When we got back to Gypsy Queen, the wind had completely died but the overcast clouds were still with us at sunset. It was just so unusual, that I had to go up on the deck and grab a panorama shot. I remember when collecting a panorama was a serious job involving manually overlapping photos, correctly configuring the stitch software, then praying for a good result. Now, I just point and sweep with my smart phone. MUCH has changed.
We were scheduled to pick up a technician to work on the water maker that day, but it would have been a bit of a wet and wild ride, so we called it off. Probably a God thing, since later in the day I did some disassembly myself and think I found my problem. It remains to be seen if I can fix it.
Later yesterday, the winds finally died down and we were able to make it into town to do our laundry and some more wandering around. All of the high price water front restaurants and bars are down on the water and I have to wonder what all the high class folks thought of us hauling laundry in our little dinghy. Judging from the smiles and waves, I think we were in good company.
When we got back to Gypsy Queen, the wind had completely died but the overcast clouds were still with us at sunset. It was just so unusual, that I had to go up on the deck and grab a panorama shot. I remember when collecting a panorama was a serious job involving manually overlapping photos, correctly configuring the stitch software, then praying for a good result. Now, I just point and sweep with my smart phone. MUCH has changed.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
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!
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!
Sunday, September 6, 2015
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.
There are some incredibly beautiful boats in these waters including fully rigged schooners the the like.
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! |
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.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)