Sailing in the Storm with Gail and Phil - Part 2

The conclusion of our aborted sailing trip back in September:

Thursday.

We drove up the coast, first to Rye for lobster rolls and haddock sandwiches at the Beach Plum. Then through Wentworth by the Sea, Castle Rock, and Portsmouth. We hopped on the interstate a bit, long enough to get to York. We went to the Nubble Lighthouse and admired the huge waves safely from the shore. We drove up to Ogunquit and walked the Marginal Way. On our way back we stopped at Stonewall Kitchens for jams and free samples. It was a very nice day, even if we weren’t on a boat.

Friday.

Our friends went to Cambridge for the day while we tried to figure out a plan for at least a few days of sailing. First we thought we'd go to Rockport and then on up to Newburyport and get the boat out of the water. But they can't haul it until after October 15th and there's no place to leave it there until then. So now we think we will go down and spend the night on the boat Saturday and then get up early and go to Plymouth. This has been a very frustrating experience, but there's nothing we can do. We’ve invited people to go boating with us many times and this is the first time our plans have been thwarted so thoroughly. SIGH!

Saturday.

Finally! Saturday is beautiful, warm and sunny. The seas in Mass Bay are still rough, but we go ahead and get ourselves packed and back down to the boat Saturday afternoon. We settle in, eat dinner, relax. It's actually warm and we have to put up the sunshade. There is a bank of fog way off outside the islands, hopefully it will stay far out to sea. Tomorrow with any luck we'll make our way to Plymouth. We have a slip at the Brewer Marina there. Time for our luck to turn!

It's Phil's birthday, and we have bought cake at the store, slices of raspberry, chocolate, and carrot. We have candles too, so we sing happy birthday, and eat cake on the boat, lots of cake!

Sunday.

The fog lifted and finally we were able to show our friends a nice day on the waters of New England. The last vestiges of Jose had drifted out into the Atlantic and the seas had moderated. Out in the middle of Mass Bay there were 2-3 foot swells, somewhat disorganized but smooth and gentle. There was no wind and not many other boats, except commercial fishermen. We saw several large ships, steaming this way and that, probably in a hurry to make up time after the storm.

This time we stayed at the Plymouth Brewer Marina, on a slip. Slips are so convenient, shore power, easy on and off. The dogs were happy to get off the boat and go for a long walk around Plymouth. We showed our friend's Plymouth Rock, walked up to the old graveyard and back through the park. For dinner we decided on Surfside Smokehouse again. This time I got the lobster Mac and cheese, which was very yummy. All our meals were enormous. Gail got salmon tacos, Phil got fish and chips and Lee got fried chicken.

Monday. 

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise. Lee took the dogs for a nice walk, we ate breakfast and took our time. It's not far from Plymouth to Scituate. First we decided to get pumped out. We needed to go to the town dock to do so, but a motor boat snuck in right before us. He filled up on diesel, and then proceeded to hose off his boat as well. Meanwhile we motored around in a circle, waiting.

The approach to the town dock was very narrow. Lee ended up backing into it; I was very impressed. Fortunately there was no wind, otherwise it might not have been possible.

Once pumped and with our fuel topped off we headed out of Plymouth harbor and back into Mass Bay. Lee wanted to go out a bit and see if maybe we could spot a whale. We went out about five miles and then turned toward Scituate. Nothing, the water was calm, there was no wind. It was very warm, and there was very little shade.

The surf at the entrance to the harbor was surprisingly fierce. The sea wall had big crashing waves, even though the swells were only 2 feet max. We could only surmise that it was due to the angle of the waves, pounding directly on the wall. Later talking to the launch driver, he said the wind just howled last Monday and Tuesday, and they could see towering waves high above the sea wall at the entrance to the harbor.

Finally we were in Scituate Harbor. Always a lovely place to be. Once on our mooring we could set up our sunshade. In a little while we went into town. I took the dogs for a nice long walk. Back on the boat it cooled off rapidly once the sun went down. I went from shorts and a tshirt to a sweater, long pants and even a fleece, before we decided to go below for dinner. Lee made pork burgers and sweet potatoes and it was delicious.

Tuesday.

We woke up to thick fog, again. Not quite as bad as last time, but bad enough. When it was time to go we turned on the AIS, took down the Westie flag, and hoisted the radar reflector. We can receive AIS signals but we don't transmit, so other boats can't see us.

At first we used the air horn every two minutes. Poor Cosmo, he truly detests that horn. He was shaking and looking at me in distress, since I was the horn blower. We used up one air horn, and since we only had one more we went to every four minutes.

Motoring through fog in calm seas is so boring, and stressful too. It's like sailing around in a circle of water ringed by a cloud. The cloud shifts and changes a bit, but not very much. Everyone tries to keep a sharp lookout, cause there could be other boats out there like us that don't transmit. As we approached Marblehead finally the fog began to lift and suddenly it was another beautiful sunny hot day.

We packed up the boat and headed home. We were all very tired, and Gail and Phil had to get ready to fly home tomorrow. We still need to get the boat up to Salisbury at some point, but probably not for another week, or two.

We certainly learned things on this trip. I kind of shudder at the thought that we almost decided to go ahead and go down to Plymouth before Jose hit. The boat would have been stuck there for a week anyway, and we would have had to figure out how to get home. And the winds there were strong enough that we saw some boats down there with damaged sails.

I learned that if you accidentally leave the ignition switch on after you turn the engine off it makes a very annoying clicking sound. I learned that the water heater switch on the power panel is only for use when we have shore power. And I also learned that if you leave that switch on overnight when you DONT have shore power you will be awakened in the middle of the night by a very loud high pitched squeal, as the inverter runs out of battery power. 

I wonder if this is the last time I will ever go out on this boat. It is for sale, but it may take awhile to sell, larger boats often do. It's probably our last sail boat, but certainly not our last boat. My husband loves the water way too much for that to be the case. But sailing is a lot of work and more and more we don't bother to put up the sails unless conditions are perfect. But motor boats that are large enough for cruising are very expensive to buy, and to own. So who knows what will end up happening!

Sailing Buzzards Bay August 2017 - Jamestown to New Bedford, Onset, Scituate and Home

Sunday.

We wake to beautiful fog. Even the Newport bridge is gone. We take our time eating breakfast, walking dogs, getting ready. When we walk the dogs we see the beginning of the Fools Rules Regatta, an annual event in Jamestown where people build sailboats on the shore and then sail them down the beach. The construction materials are pretty creative! 

We head out of the harbor into peasoup. Lots of boats coming back in, and we decide it's prudent to do the same. We waste some time looking at pretty boats in the Newport Harbor and then try again.

It's very foggy for awhile, but we have the AIS on, and there is some visibility. Finally it begins to lift, but then we are confronted by another conundrum. The marine forecast for Buzzards Bay said waves 2 ft; these are easily closer to 5, or more, rolling swells about 6 seconds apart. They aren't scary, the boat handles them just fine, nobody is getting wet. But boy o boy this is not a good day for anyone prone to seasickness!

I volunteer to make lunch. I've never been seasick, and I think I'll be fine. Wrong! It's warm down below. I open a couple hatches but even so ..... I'm making tuna salad from the tuna we had for dinner last night. I chop up the tuna, go uptop for a break. Chop up celery, another break. Throw on some mustard and mayo, chop a little onion. Give the bowl to Beth and ask her to mix it up. Cut up a tomato. Hand up some chips and bread and get out of there just in time....that's the closest to seasick I've ever been. I now understand the stories I've read where everyone gets sick on a boat. 

Back up in the fresh air I stare at the horizon and sip a coke. Gradually my stomach returns to a state more resembling normalcy. Eventually I can even eat a little lunch. Whew!

Lee looks at the marine forecast again. Aha! We were actually in Rhode Island Sound, not Buzzards Bay, and the forecast there IS for seas 3-5 ft and a small craft advisory. We later speculate that if we had known the real forecast we would probably have changed our plans. Ignorance was sort of bliss...I guess.

Once in the shade of the islands, and truly in Buzzards Bay, the seas do moderate. Between the swells and the lack of wind it is after 6 when we finally pull into New Bedford. The dogs get a short walk, we all take showers, eat dinner, and collapse into bed. Sailing through swells like that all day is just exhausting. You don't realize it but you are doing isometric exercises all day, just to stay upright!

Monday.

Pleasant uneventful day. A little wind, no waves. We actually can put up the sails! The current from the canal helps us along too. We pull into Onset at 2:30, much better than yesterday!

I've decided to do my run this evening. We need to leave Onset at 9:30 am tomorrow to be at the beginning of the ebb tide into Cape Cod Bay. This way I don't inconvenience anyone else and I get my third run of the trip in so I'm ahead when its time for our next cruise in September.

This run is the first of 6 weeks of hill repeats. Last year when I did these I hated them and dreaded them every week. This year I'm not looking forward to them but I decide I need to have a different attitude. Yes they hurt, but they are supposed to. A minute and a half of 90% effort, then rest for 4 minutes, repeat. It's not fun, but the end results are great, and a couple of weeks from now my hill climbing abilities will be much improved. Hang in there!

Tuesday.

We are heading out of Onset and into the canal right around 9:30 am. It makes so much difference if we time our passage properly. It only takes a little more than an hour to pass through the canal.

Back in Cape Cod Bay at first we are still pulled along by the ebb. We even raise the sails and try to motor sail. The sun is shining, the wind dies. It's warm enough that I put on my bathing suit top.

Then clouds start to gather, the wind builds and it cools off. By the time we pull into Scituate it looks like rain and I've changed into a sweater. What odd weather! It's quite windy but it never rains and we have a nice evening ashore. We try a new restaurant (for us), The Gallery. Sliders, tacos, small plates and a delicious peppery Pinot Noir. Tomorrow we head back across Massachusetts Bay, back to Salem, and home.

Provincetown July birthday sailing trip

Friday, July 18th is a sunny beautiful day with no wind, but we put put up sails anyway and motor sail. It's great to have a working autopilot finally. Autopilot makes sailing a lot less tiring for old folks. You can pretty much let the boat steer itself, although someone still has to be on watch. The autopilot wouldn't know if another boat suddenly decided to cut in front of us!

Scituate is still a cute little town. We walk the dogs and stop for some ice cream. We have a dinner on the boat of shrimp, pasta, and salad. Beets and lettuce are from the garden, but no tomatoes yet.

The next morning is still, foggy, windless. It is time for our new sailing adventure, across Cape Cod Bay to Provincetown. We turn on the AIS so we won't run into a freighter, but not the radar since we really don't understand how to read it yet. We are out in deep water, no rocky outcrops so there is very little danger except for other boats and the fog starts to lift anyway. With the GPS we always know where we are and like good sailors we always double check things on the paper charts too. We are learning!

Provincetown is on the the outermost point of Cape Cod. We thought perhaps we would be out of sight of land for a bit on this part of our journey but actuallly we can always see land somewhere, either behind us, to the south along Cape Cod, and eventually Ptown itself.

As we approach Ptown we see a huge fish blow steam skyward and leap through the water. A whale! We watch it leaping over and over. Today is Lee's birthday and this is the best birthday present he could possibly ask for. We see several more whales before this day's sail is through. Lee takes a video and several pictures.

Ptown harbor is huge, but kind of wide open. There is a seawall, but unfortunately our mooring is not behind it so we we are in a pretty bouncy location. On our first time into town we take the dinghy but Flyers has such a good launch service that we decide to just take the launch instead for the rest of our stay.

Saturday at Ptown is a hoot, boy is it a "LGBT friendly tourist destination, with a thriving gay community". We are a distinct minority but we are not alone. We walk the main drag, hike to a hardware store to get a part for the boat shower, stop for ice cream. There are lots of dogs for Harper and Cosmo to greet, lots of people that have to pet a Westie.

In the evening we get dressed up and take the launch into town for dinner at Johnny's Hideaway. It's a good restaurant and hard to get a table so we end up sitting at the bar. This turns out to be really fun, with good bartender/waiter and interesting people sitting beside us. We have lots of fun talking to Frank and his boyfriend from Philly.

On Sunday morning I go for a run through town and along the Cape Cod National Seashore. It's a beautiful run, I almost wish I was running farther! I meet Lee and the dogs on my way back and decide to take Harper with me for the last part of my run. She hasn't run with me in awhile but she is really gung-ho except for the last 5 minutes or so when she thinks that's enough! It's so funny how she catches right on that the beeper tells us when to run and when to walk.

Monday it's time to sail back to Scituate. It's a cloudy day with not a lot of wind. At about 10 miles out we think we should be able to see the south shore, but we can't see a thing. It gradually dawns on us that we are surrounded by fog! It happened so slowly that we just couldn't see it, or just didn't know what to look for. Another thing to learn I guess, the Many Faces of Fog. But unlike the fog we hit on our sail to Cuttyhunk , this time we are prepared. We have AIS, which allows us to see any other boat with this equipment. We go ahead and turn on the radar, but it's old and sort of funky, although it does show us some things. Lee plans on replacing it next year. And we have an excellent GPS, which clearly shows where we are, and which way to go. It's nice actually that we are out in the middle of Cape Cod Bay, and that Scituate harbor is uncomplicated, with an easy approach. We see their seawall, and the buoy that marks the entrance, when we are about 100 yards away. Even the harbor is completely socked in, but the launch service leads us straight to our mooring ball, so all is good.

This time we decide to use the Scituate launch service to go ashore. Well silly us! It turns out that their launch service is also excellent and they have comfortable showers to boot. This makes this little town even more of a favorite sailing destination than before.

We go ashore that evening and eat dinner at a restaurant called Riva's. Another good meal, and we sit outside on the patio so the dogs can join us. They are so good, sitting quietly under the table while we eat our meal, even with another dog not so well behaved a couple of tables down. A couple of small bites of potato chip don't hurt, either.

The next morning it's bright and sunny, and gee, it's my birthday, I go for a run along the shore while Lee walks the dogs. We grab a breakfast sandwich at our favorite coffee shop and then head back to Salem.

There is a little wind so we put out the jib, mostly for show. The slowly rolling seas make for a rhythmic motion to our trip, a little TOO rhythmic for my tastes. I don't normally get seasick but this sort of slow rolling sea means that it's better for all concerned if we stay out of the cabin in the fresh air.

As we approach Marblehead it appears to be kid sailboat racing day. There are clusters of small sailboats everywhere, racing from point to point. I'm a little envious of these children, learning to sail when they are so young that it will be instinctive for them, unlike me, who has to really think about what she is doing!

It's good to be home, where my flowers and veggies are going gangbusters, and I'm slowly trying to catch up on various tasks. I have a new turtle out in the yard, and new Westie flip flops too. Not too shabby for a 62 year old woman!

New Ports of Call

One of Lee's birthday presents this year was a sailing trip of 4 or 5 days duration. What this really means is "a sailing trip where Lynn doesn't grumble about pump toilets or freak out unnecessarily". He eagerly took me up on this offer, so here we are.

We considered a couple of different scenarios. Buzzards Bay is too far to go in less than a week, ditto for Maine. We'd love to go to both of those destinations, but they will have to wait. We'd love to go to Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, but it is a pretty far trip over open water, not quite out of sight of land, but close. So those destinations will happen sometime, but not right now.

Then, depending on the wind, we decided we would either go north or south. As it turned out, we headed south.

The first morning it was calm, and rainy. The rain stopped luckily just as we got to Salem Harbor, where our boat is moored. As we headed out we realized that we had left the car charger in the car, so we had no way to charge our electronics.  Oops!

We did without both phones and ipads (for the most part, I did call my mom) all of that day and that night, until Lee was able to buy a replacement charger. It really had me thinking about how dependent we have become on those devices. They have revolutionized so much of our everyday behavior. I didn't really miss them while we were off line, and I did find myself reading a lot more, but as soon as we could charge them again I was right back online, checking Facebook and email, writing blog posts, researching where we could walk the dogs on the beach, where I could go for a run.

Unfortunately the wind did not pick up, so we had to motor to Hull, south of Boston Harbor. Just as we got to Hull the wind that we had been expecting that afternoon arrived so we picked up our mooring in a howling gale. We were afraid the night would be bumpy and uncomfortable, but it wasn't too bad. We took the dogs for a nice long walk and enjoyed a beautiful sunset peeking through the clouds.

In the morning we enjoyed their marina's very comfortable showers and then headed out. The wind was still very strong which meant two things. First of all we would make good time to Plymouth, our next destination. Secondly, steering would be challenging. We were sailing at an angle to the wind, so the wind wanted to push us one way and whoever was at the helm had to keep the boat from turning. We have autopilot, but it was malfunctioning, so it was all up to us.

Lee took the first turn steering and I watched carefully. This kind of weather can make me nervous, but I'm getting better. While Lee drove he would remind me that it was important to not let the boat "head up" and turn in the direction the wind wanted to push it. It can feel kind of scary, because you will heel over more as you go faster and the wind pushes you harder.

When it was my turn to steer I kept us on a steady course as much as possible. When the wind would pick up I would mutter to myself "there is nothing to be concerned about, keep a steady course." Even as the boat's speed hit over 6 knots I didn't panic. I was pretty proud of myself!

It was pretty chilly with all that wind and no sun. It even rained a little during my watch. We started out in shorts but it didn't take too long before I was wearing pants, shoes, a sweatshirt, and even a raincoat for awhile. This was more like New England than our trip with the kids a few weeks ago when we all ended up in the water because it was so hot!

Lee took another turn, and then I took the helm as we turned into Duxbury Harbor and then toward Plymouth. This is a very long and increasingly narrow harbor, and it was low tide.  I was checking the depth and the last time I looked it was 36 feet. Suddenly WHUMP! Three feet! I had wandered slightly out of the channel and hit a sandbar!

Lee quickly grabbed the helm and put the boat into reverse. No damage done, it was only sand, and we were quickly free. It shook us both up however. This area of the east coast is so treacherous. There are little islands and rocks all over the place; no wonder there are so many wrecks. Eventually I took the wheel back from Lee, but I was very careful for the rest of our trip into the Harbor.

We walked around Plymouth for a while that evening, let the dogs get a little exercise and ate lobster rolls for dinner. The following day we hung out, saw what there was to see in Plymouth, and took a day off from sailing.

I have to put in a bit here about sailing with our dogs. They are both pretty adaptable creatures. They like doing anything with their people, and they always like it when we GO, wherever that might be. They like the smells on the ocean, and Cosmo thinks he is going to have a seagull, or maybe a Cormorant, for dinner one day. When we take them ashore, they draw minor crowds because of their cuteness. "Aw! Looks at those dogs! They're so cute! What are their names? Are they twins? Can I pet them?" The only problem is Cosmo still wants to kill big dogs we meet while on a leash, but we are working on it. They bring smiles to everyone we meet. If only this was Europe and they could come to restaurants with us it would be perfect. But it's not so bad. Today we got carryout burgers and sweet potato fries from Kate's Burger Joint and ate them in a nearby park. No complaints.

That night we left our guard Westies on the boat and went out for a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in Plymouth named Patrizzios. Highly recommended! Especially the limoncello basil cocktail and the beet salad. My tuna was really nice too. As we drove the dinghy back to our sailboat home in the dark, lightning lit the horizon, but the rain had passed. I wish I had had my camera! It was beautiful.

The next day we headed out of Plymouth Harbor and started back north. When we got back out on the ocean we were in for an unpleasant surprise. Instead of the northwest winds that Lee had expected the winds were almost directly from the north, 14 knots, with gusts to 20. We initially put up our mainsail, but not for long. Not only was the wind very strong, but it also was creating some big swells, at least 3 feet, with occasional 4 foot whoppers. Since we were trying to go north we were heading almost directly into the wind. The waves were breaking over the bow, with the spray actually reaching us back in the cockpit at times.

We put down the mainsail and put up the jib instead, and this was okay for awhile, although sailing was still hard work, and we were making lousy time. Because of the wind direction we had to tack (sail at an angle to the wind) and it was hard to make much headway. Finally we gave up, took down the jib, and just used the motor. We still were making terrible time however because those massive waves kept slowing us down. Our initial plan had been to stay on one of the Boston Harbor Islands that night, but at the rate we were going it was going to be 7pm before we got there. So Lee decided to cut the day short and we pulled into Scituate Harbor instead.

Scituate was a sweet little seaside town, quiet and not at all touristy. Now that we were not fighting the wind and the waves, we could enjoy the bright blue sky, mild temps, and the little sunfish sailboats zipping around the harbor. The dogs are sunbathing in the cockpit, Lee is busy putting up netting to make our boat a bit safer for dogs, and I'm about to find something else lazy to do. In the morning, if the wind finally turns like its supposed to, we should be able to sail right across Massachusetts Bay back to Salem. We're hopeful, anyway!

The final journey across Massachusetts Bay was a lot of fun. There was no wind, so we motored, but Lee got the autopilot working again so it was very easy. It was kind of cool going way out on the water straight across the Bay. We could see Boston in the distance almost the entire trip. We were never out of sight of land, but the land was very far away. The funny thing was we could see the smokestacks in Salem Harbor almost the entire trip, which made it very easy to select our heading.

This was a good trip. I told Lee I had a good time, and its true. It increased my confidence, enough that I think we could go to Provincetown, or up to Maine, without too much trouble.

We have a few more sailing trips planned this year, one with Lee's mother, and hopefully one more 3-4 day trip in early October, depending on the weather. I can honestly say, maybe for the first time in a long time, that I am looking forward to those trips!