Atlantic City Inlet to Havre de Grace

“The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew…I wrote this (plagiarized from the fabled 60’s TV show) in anticipation of our trip up Delaware Bay.  The negative slant was based on our last trip on this body of water in 2008 returning from our Great Loop trip.  The bay kicked our ass then, but not this time.  The weather could not have been better.  The sea was flat enough to water ski. The sun was shining and the current was flowing with us!  Departing from Cape May, NJ at 07:00 we made it to Chesapeake City, MD and still had time for a beer at the local establishment.  Actually, we had 2 each and the bill was $7.50.  Boy do we miss 'Happy Hour' in New England.  Thanks Gov. Dukakis.  On the bay, we encountered several large ships.  It is quite thrilling to meet one of these behemoths on the open water.  They had come though the C&D canal, a short cut from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River and we were headed there next.  It is quite amazing to see some of the large civil engineering projects that this country has completed over the years.  The amount of earth that must have been moved to create such a canal is on scale with the work it took to create the Great Pyramids, except we had power tools.  On Saturday, we moved on to Havre de Grace, MD and have hunkered down for a couple of days in a very nice marina with a courtesy van for trips to Home Depot and the grocery store.  The wind will blow tomorrow and hopefully we can move again on Monday.  Stay tuned.

Anchored in Brigantine Pond with view of AC

Dinner - pan seared cod on bed of spinach (Greek style)

Sights along Delaware River

Why is the top of this lighthouse white?

Delaware Responder ready for action on C&D Canal

MASCOT at Havre de Grace
Dinner - Scott's Chili

NYC

Yesterday we went through the East River in NY and an area referred to as Hell Gate.

Not much river traffic so it was a very pleasant and scenic trip.

Lucky for us, our friend Karan captured us on the Brooklyn Bridge webcam and snapped our picture as we passed by.  Thanks Karan!

What a sight as we exited the river and looked back on the skyline.

We tucked in an anchorage at Sandy Hook, NJ for the night, a very lumpy night at that.  The anchor was hauled at 06:00 and we began the 10.5 hour cruise to Atlantic City Inlet where we anchored on the Brigantine side in a great little pool.

Sunrise 06:37

Point Judith RI to Port Jefferson, NY

Historic Fireboat John J Harvey - New London, CT

How perfect can it be?  We cruised from Point Judith to Niantic CT on Saturday, passing the CT Schooner Festival, a collaboration by OpSail and Mystic Seaport. Once in Niantic we tied to a friend’s mooring and listened to Paul Broadnax singing “Kiss me a little at a time” on the CD player.  Our mooring hosts, Brian & Jan, stopped by for a visit, we reminisced and then talked about our upcoming trip to the Bahamas where we'll see them again.  Even though it was overcast and the forecast was for rain, this was yet another perfect night.  Without any media distractions, we had a nice dinner and a wonderful evening.  An average day ashore is cluttered up with so many things to distract from what is really important.  As the CD played “The party’s over”, we called it a night.  

A is for Alternator.  That word has occupied our conversations for the last couple of days.  A few days ago, we noticed that the main engine alternator was not charging the batteries.  This is more of a nuisance than a real problem because we still have the auxiliary generator which will charge everything nicely.  It is just the thought of wasting all that charging time when the main engine is running that bothers us.  We arrived in Port Jefferson on Long Island around 2:00 PM.  The 5 hr. crossing from Niantic CT was fairly straight forward although a little rolley for the first couple of hours.  We came here specifically to see our boating friends, George & Jane, who happened to be entertaining Jane’s brother and his wife who had driven down from Ontario for a few days.  They were so generous to include us in their night out at one of their favorite establishments.  What a treat to have a local “guide” who knows all the best places.  And as boaters do for other boaters, George and brother in law Bob spent their morning taking me to a local shop to have the alternator repaired. I know that was not in their plans and it is greatly appreciated.  All went well and the alternator is re-installed and works perfectly.  It was also laundry day at the Sunshine Laundromat.  We completed the day with an ice-cream/gelato and walk around town.

Tomorrow at first light, we are off to begin the trip down the New Jersey coast.

Cutty Hunk, MA to Point Judith, RI

One of the common questions we get is “What do you do all day?”  While it’s true that we do not have television or some of the other common distractions, we can always find a way to fill up the day.  Today for instance, we got up at 06:00 and did our usual morning routine; make coffee, check the weather and figure out what to do today.  We decided to move the boat and set our sights on Block Island, about 10 miles off the coast of Rhode Island.  The conditions were a little “dicey” but we went anyway.  The trip would take 4 ½ hours to complete.  About an hour into the trip, it became clear that we were being a little too aggressive in our itinerary and we decided to bail out at Pt Judith, RI.  Once inside the breakwater, we turned to one of our guide books and found an anchorage that sounded good.  We have been to Pt Judith before but not in a long time and never anchored here.  After a little poking around to find the way in, we anchored in about the most perfect conditions with just the right depth and excellent holding of the anchor.  Mary made a nice lunch and I had a nap (because boating is hard work!).  In the afternoon, I worked on a small boat project, an electrical modification that I have been wanting to do, while Mary read a couple of boating magazines and from time to time was my helper monkey.  The wind died later in the day and we were treated to a show put on by the locals (fish) as they chased their prey.  I don’t know what species they are but it was a real spectacle.  They swam in circles with their dorsal fins breaking the surface while rounding up the smaller fish and then with great splashing made the kill.  Nature is spectacular.  Now it is dinner time for us.  The menu is to be left-overs from the last couple of nights complimented with a nice corn chowder.  Although it has not happened yet, I suspect that bedtime will be about 21:00 (aka Boaters Midnight).  Another day in the log book.

Ipswich, MA to Scituate, MA

WOOHOO! On the first fire of the canon we dropped the pennants to our mooring for the last time in 2015, and on the last shot, at 12:37pm, M/V MASCOT departed Plum Island Sound.  
After yesterday's beach party send-off, with our close friends and complete with a magnum of Proseco, we knew it was time to go.
Now what, you ask?  Through the Annisquam River to Cape Ann Marina for fuel, lots of fuel (fuel tank capacity 400 gallons).  
If you are not familiar with Blynman Bridge in Gloucester, let's just say it can be a challenge but today we arrived at slack tide, no boat traffic and cruised through easily.
Once in Gloucester Harbor, we decided to continue on since seas in Mass Bay were 2 ft or less, and arrived in Scituate Harbor at 6:00pm.  The launch service led us to a mooring where we settled in for dinner and some much needed sleep.

We check items off the 'to do' list and of course we add more on, but things are coming together.

House:

>Cleaned out the last few items

>Received a text on Thursday morning there was a crash in the walk in

  closet.  One of the racks fell from the weight of stored clothes and coats.

  I cleared out the pile of clothes and Scott replaced the shelving and added

  a support.

>Still using the workshop so the basement will be the final cleaning 

Storage:

>A quick overnight to NH to store some bags and final check on the house

>We continue to pack the Ipswich storage unit

Work:

>Scott finished up at Metalcraft Door on Friday, 9/4

Sustenance:

>Special thank you to our friends for reminding us to eat, then either meeting us or inviting us to dinner

Provisioning:

>The only thing left is a final grocery shop

Dinghy:

>The custom davit system has been installed and works beautifully

Installing the winch

Stowing:

>Everything is almost in its place, or a place, just a few more items to stow

  (Now the trick will be finding where we’ve put things!)

Generator:

>Sunday morning breakfast was delayed by the generator, it wouldn’t stay running.  Troubleshooting found the impeller had broken but thankfully we had a spare and after an hour replacing the part, the generator ran perfect.

Replacing the impeller

What an adventure this is turning out to be.  The last few days have been mayhem! Moving out of your house and getting it ready for a tenant and then distributing all your stuff  between the boat, a storage unit, the vacation house, and several friends basements takes an inordinate amount of time and energy.  Normally an 85 degree summer day is a beautiful thing but not when you are moving.  The only saving grace is that we got to eat an entire quart of sherbet that we figured would not make it to the boat freezer in solid form.  We were (and still are) completely in the weeds.  We moved aboard enough stuff to completely fill a standard sized pick-up truck.  The list included food, clothes, tools, spare parts, medical kit, liquor, books, pots & pans, a food processor, pillows (LOTS of pillows), games, 2 computers, a tuxedo, and a pink flamingo (because every boat should have one).   Even with this extensive inventory, I will be waiting for the inevitable "You know what we forgot?" that will be uttered shortly after we depart.

We have decided that a departure date of sometime before next week is a good target.
Stay tuned...