10/9/03 - Up at dawn and left the dock at Hull YC at 6:30am (some vacation!). Once again we are heading to the cape cod canal and there is no wind. At least the temperature is warm. Flat seas, partly sunny the entire trip to the canal. Molly the cat is getting used to the engine running and finding out her favorite spots on the boat (she also is suspicious of the gray rubber dinghy that's following us, not knowing that we're towing it!). Arrive at the canal at 2pm (still 2hrs until the tide shifts against us), time for a canal beer!. All going well until we get to the railroad bridge near the end of the canal and of course it's coming down, so we have to turn around and motor away for 10 mins. Making good time, so we decide to continue past Onset harbor and go to Marion. Grabbed a mooring from Burr Brothers and settle in for the night.

10/10/03 - Later start than planned. Heading for Block Island. Bit foggy this morning, visibility is about 1 mile. This improved to 2-3 miles during the morning hours. Wind was NE about 15 kts building to 20 during the day. Motor-sailed with the jib the entire way (avg about 7 kts most of the way). Autopilot having a tough time with the following seas about 5 miles out from Block Island, so Betsy hand steered the rest of the way.
Arrived at great salt pond in Block Island about 4pm and picked up a town mooring (the place is empty!). Took the dinghy into Payne's dock and walked to the Oar restaurant for a couple of beers. Back to the boat and get the dinghy put away and then our friends Wiley & Barbara appear on the fast ferry!! So it's back into the dinghy to meet them ( and Colleen & Gus) for dinner. Tomorrow we try for Shelter Island.

10/11/03 - Made the attempt to get to Shelter Island this morning. Bad idea. Winds were 20-25 from the Northeast and the seas were rough and on the beam. Got 1/4 mi from Block Isl and decided to go back and spend another night. The cat found a hiding spot when the boat started rolling (smart animal). Did some reorganizing of storage (exciting life, huh?). Went onshore to meet Barbara, Wiley, Colleen for a beer and see Barb & Wiley off on the ferry. Went back to the Oar to watch the Sox lose. Meanwhile Betsy's sister Jonna and her friend Jack were making their way from Bristol to B.I. on his sailboat (bit of a rough ride). They finally got to the Oar around 6:30 and joined us for the game. Hopefully we can make Shelter Island tomorrow.

10/12/03 - Took one look at the weather this morning and we aren't even going to try. It's raining and very windy in the harbor. Reports from the Montauk buoy are winds NE at 25 - 35 and 11 ft seas. Back to bed.

10/13/03 - Finally escaped Block Island! The weather has cooperated and allowed us to have a beautiful sail to Long Island. NW winds 15 - 20 kts, seas about 3 - 5ft, sunny and visibility is unlimited. Original plan was to get to Shelter Island but we found a place at Orient Point (Orient Point Marina and Restaurant) that had cheap dockspace and was closer to Plum Gut. This would get us closer to Port Jefferson the following day.
The entrance to Orient Pt marina was a bit hard to find but worth it. For $30 we got a slip for the night with electricity & water. Suzanne the bartender also told us about the Blue Dolphin resort down the road that would send a limo (actually was a limo!) to pick us up and bring us back so we could watch the red sox game. Met Bill & Linda Evans from Scituate. They are also heading south to Florida on their Catalina 38 (Bonnie Christine). Got to the resort way too early and stayed way too long (but still managed to leave before the game ended).

10/14/03 - Got thru the infamous Plum Gut without incident. The current really rips through there! We shot through at 8.5 kts. SE wind was light so we motored with the jib out all the way to Port Jefferson. Grabbed a guest mooring at the Sekaunet YC. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is for a storm with SW winds from 30-45kts and heavy rain. Looks like we will stay here until at least Thurs am.

10/15/03 - Wow! Is it windy here. The boat has been bouncing at the mooring all day. Seen gusts to almost 40kts on the wind instrument (when we dared look). The rest of the boats in the harbor are rockin' and rollin'. One poor guy is going to need a new jib and spreader on his boat (the furler came undone and the wind shredded the sail and took out a spreader). The skies were nice and clear though so we finally decided to chance leaving the boat and go into town. After walking around a while, we went into a bar to watch the sox game. Wouldn't you know we sat next to another Bostonian (of course we were still out numbered by the Yankees fans). Left the bar as the sox were losing but listened to them come back for a win onboard .
Hopefully the forecast is right and the winds will die down tonight (so we can sleep) and we can get to Manhasset Bay tomorrow.

10/16/03 - Still a bit windy(20-30, waves 4-6') on the sound today (and from the wrong direction). Stayed in Port Jeff one more day. I think we've seen all there is to see here (about a day ago). It was a nice clear day so we went for a walk along the beach before grabbing lunch at BILLIE'S 1890 SALOON. BBQ'd a steak tonight and now listening to the sox game. Tomorrow definitely going to Manhasset Bay.

10/17/03 - Damn Red Sox!! Had to shut the radio off when the score was tied at 5-5. Knew we were doomed.
Finally got out of port jefferson and headed for Manhasset bay. Winds were light and the seas were flat. Motored the whole way. Spotted a piece of dock floating in the sound and reported it to the C.G.. Got to MBYC about 2:30pm. Met our friend Jeff Shane at the Manhasset Bay YC for dinner at 6pm. Manhasset Bay fall series starts tomorrow. (we'll be doing laundry while the racing is going on - how exciting is that?). Think we will be here until Sunday am.

10/18/03 - Chore day. Introduced ourselves to one of the great joys of cruising....laundry. Visited our first laundramat today. It's almost as good as TV, watching the clothes go round and round. Sort of hypnotic. Then it was grocery shopping, fill fuel up and do an oil change. Found a nice fish restaurant in Port Washington (Fish-Kebob) and then back to the boat. Gonna be chilly tonight. Tomorrow is the trip through NY harbor. Should be fun.

10/19/03 - NY Harbor! Wind on the nose so we motored from Manhasset Bay into the East River and down through Hells Gate and into NY Harbor. Passed the UN bldg, Empire State Bldg, Battery Pary, Statue of Liberty & Ellis Isl. Went under the Brooklyn & Verrazano bridges (see pics). Kind of a cool gray day so the pics will not be great. Still it was quite a trip. The harbor is a very busy port, so watching the barges & ferries and listening to the VHF radio was important. Luckily the traffic on Sunday is light so we did get to sightsee. Arrived at Great Kills harbor on Staten Island by 1:30pm. Our friends Ronnie and Gerry met us and took us to their yacht club (Raritan YC, NJ) for dinner. Back to the boat to get ready for the first leg down the coast of NJ. (gonna be cold tonight, frost warning........and here I forgot my ice scraper).

10/20/03 - COLD! It was a 4 blanket night. Got going to NJ coast about 7:30am. Light NW winds to start (good thing cause it was still cold). Rounded Sandy Hook and headed down the coast. Original plan was to go to Manasquan Inlet but we were making good time so we decided to try for Barnegat Inlet or Atlantic City. Unfortunately the wind switched to right on our nose and built so Barnegat Inlet was the choice. Kind of a tricky harbor to enter (you have to line up from the south to see the entrance between 2 breakwaters and then carefully follow the channel markers). Got there about 3:45 (about 54 nm). The only place that had slips for sailboats was High Bar Harbor YC. Molly was having a staring contest with a couple of seagulls on the dock and then decided to get brave and jump onto the dock while we weren't looking. Betsy quickly captured her and put her below. Tomorrow's forecast is crappy so we will probably be here 2 days.

10/21/03 - Blowing 30 from SW, just where we want to go. So it's another day in Barnegat Inlet. Went for a morning walk to look for breakfast. Big mistake. This place is closed down for the season. Finally found a place that served lunch (we got them to start cooking 1/2 hr early by begging). Don't come here after Sept expecting much.

10/22/03 - A cold, wet day on the water. Got going a little after 7am. Wind and waves from behind. Both building during the morning. The forecast kept saying that the winds would build to about 30knots so we decide to stop in at Atlantic City instead of chancing another 5 hrs to Cape May. Dock at the state marina near the Trump Marina Casino. Nice facility but a bit pricey at $3/ft. At least we have shore power so we can put on the electric heater (it's going down to low 40's or upper 30's tonight). Walked the boardwalk and played a few slots. Still up $5. Forecast for tomorrow is more high winds.

10/23/03 - Decided to chance the weather and head down to Cape May from A.C.. Probably not a smart move because it was a terrible ride. 25-30 kts of wind from the West-NW, cold weather, no sun and waves building. Made it to C.M. about 3:30pm and got a slip at Canyon Club resort. We're the only sailboat surrounded by sport fishing boats. It looks like the Ft Lauderdale boat show here. We've got the heater running and the stove on to heat the cabin up some. Bbbbrrrrrrrr.

(Where's Waldo? - Can you pick out the sailboat in this picture??)

10/24/03 - Staying another day in Cape May and see the sights. Beautiful victorian homes all over downtown. Very nicely restored. Many of them are B & B's or summer rentals. Favorable winds scheduled for tomorrow's ride up the Delaware Bay. Should make the C&D canal by late afternoon.

10/25/03 - Early rise in Cape May (up at 6, off the dock at 7). Gotta get under the bridges in the Cape May canal before high tide! Bridge says 55 ft and koko's mast is about 52 but it's a new moon tide. We make it under by a whisker. The VHF antenna just brushes the bottom of the bridge. That's about as close as I want to get! A second bridge just as close. Then it's on to the Delaware Bay & river. Lot's of fishing boats out today. Not much wind and the seas are flat, but it's sunny and warmer than the last few days! We have to weave our way around them. We see alot of big transport planes coming and going from Dover airforce base all day. We pass a big nuclear power plant right on the Delaware river. We finally get to the C & D canal at 2:30pm. Seems like we are back on the Cape Cod canal the first day (only this canal is a bit longer at 14 miles). We get passed by our friends from Scituate (see 10/13). Seems they left Caqpe May last night and sailed to an anchorage somewhere on the bay and then continued this morning. They are heading for the Bohemia River today. We stop at Chesapeake City and anchor (our first of the trip). This is a great little town. Very quaint houses. They are having ghost walks tonight with characters in costume. It would be nice to spend more time here but we must push on. Ate at Chesapeake Inn & Marina complete with Tiki bar..

10/26/03 - Another long day ahead. Trying for Annapolis (about 55nm from here). Up anchor about 6:30am (and yes we remembered to set the clocks back!) and promptly run aground exiting the anchorage! Luckily it's only mud and we power through it and into the canal. It begins as a peaceful ride out the canal and down the Chesapeake. Very picturesque farmland along the water. The smell of horse manure is in the air up this end of the bay. The wind and seas evetually build to gusts of 30kts apparent and 3ft chop as we get further along (of course it's right on our nose so we can't use our sails - need to make best speed to Annapolis before city docks close at 5pm). We finally get in sight of the bridge before Annapolis when we spot Wiley Crockett's old boat "Farr Fetched" out racing. We promptly call Barbara Crockett to tell her (see pics). Quite a coincedence. We finally are able to put out a jib for the final 6 miles into the harbor and arrive about 3:30pm. We were going to take one of the city docks for the night but one look at them and we decided a mooring would be easier for tonight. After we got the boat settled and we cleaned up a bit, we went into town. Isabel did a number on this place. Many of the shops along the water are either closed for repair or have evidence of damage. The Pusser's Bar is being remodeled after being 4ft under water! Fawcetts Marine store had pictures of the harbor during the storm surge. Everything near the waterfront was submerged. We grab a drink and some garlic mussels at McGarveys and chat with the bartender "Steve" from Marblehead. Unfortunately he is a Yankee fan (but also a Patriots fan), but thankfully the Yankees lost the series so he couldn't brag too much.

10/27/03 - This morning we found a great breakfast spot, Chick & Ruths Delly. Good eggs and hash. It's raining buckets today, a wet day for dinghy rides. Gonna be here for a while so we finally have a chance to get mail forwarded. Scouting nearby marinas for fuel & slip prices is on the agenda for today.
Other highlites: McGarvey's Saloon & Oyster Bar, Middleton Tavern, Griffin's, Maria's (italian), City Dock Cafe (coffee and Internet access).

10/30/03 - Time to leave Annapolis. It was fun to have a spot to rest up, sleep late and get our mail but it is time to make some progress south again. Annapolis is a great town with great colonial buildings, great restaurants and interesting shops. It took a hard beating during Isabel. Many of the shops downtown were closed (or are still closed) and have plaques showing the waterline levels of the storm surge. One funny thing is that you can find many places to get parts for your boat but no place close by to get food supplies!
It's off to St. Michael's over on the Delaware side of the bay. It was a beautiful day, cool but sunny. We actually got to sail today (for a while). Again the wind was on the nose so we eventually dropped sails and motored the rest of the way to make it before things shut down. St. Michaels is about 15 miles off the bay up the Miles River. This is a cute little town that looks like it's a fun place to be during the season. At least it has a grocery store within walking distance. Good crab cakes at the "Crab & Steak House" right at the marina.

10/31/03 - NOAA strikes again! Forecast called for winds less than 10 kts and seas less than 1 ft. Well it started out that way but sure didn't end up like that. Decided that the forecast would let us make some ground, so we went for Solomons Island on the Patuxent river. About 20 miles from there the wind piped up to 15+ on the nose and the seas built to 3+ ft in short chop. So we banged our way under motor for about 3 1/2 hrs (a total trip time of 9 hrs today and 50nm). At least this is a beautiful spot to stop at. Very quiet anchorage with more sailboats than I have seen in one place ever. Also got a show from the naval test pilot school - lots of fighter jets buzzing the area. We found a nice quiet spot to anchor and Betsy promptly got attacked by 3 swans looking for handouts. We thought about feeding them Molly for a while (she was being a pain today), but resisted.

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