2010 Log
9/1 to 9/15/2010
This is the current period of our log for 2010. At the bottom of the page are links to this year's pass weeks; our earlier voyages are in Prior Voyages.
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Updated on 01/28/2011
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9/1/10 - We spent the morning exploring McNutt's Island, taking a 15km walk that took us to the lighthouse and gun batteries (WWII). It was about 90F out and we worked off a lot of water weight. The island started as a colony when McNutt bought it from the British to start a religious community in the 1700's. Currently the owners have it subdivided into lots but only a handful of cottages have been built. The current residents have quite the sense of humor, crossings, phones, subways and even a sign for a McDonalds. Other than the residents there are sheep, goats, deer, mink, seals and an assortment of birds. Ruth tried to make friends with the sheep but they weren't buying... responding baahhh. I wasn't going near the sheep, everyone knows they lie. Early afternoon we sailed another 6 miles up the small bay to Shelburne where we anchored. We'll be here until after the storm. Current plans are to join the local boats when they form a sheltered fleet behind the government wharf tomorrow afternoon. Then we strip everything off the decks if the wind forecast is above 60 knots. We've tried to get WiFi to confirm the storm's path and timing but were not able to get a usable signal. Weather radio isn't mentioning the hurricane yet. Miles has been sending us updates via SkyMate. 9/2/10 - Sunny and still this morning. Virtually no clouds. Ruth did a wash while We worked on getting the boat ready to move. We joined a couple dozen other vessels ranging from fishing boats to 30'+ sailboats forming a spider web in the L shaped corner of the massive government pier. We spent the balance of the afternoon removing deck gear and canvas. We had an invitation to a swim in Rick's pool, Ruth opted for a shower on the boat. I went swimming - great water! We were waken at 10pm by noises on deck, Tom, Jeff and Beverly had just sailed Tom & Beverly's Bristol Channel Cutter in from an offshore delivery to Newport, RI, and were seeking shelter. They had gotten as far south as Nantucket and just made Shelburne when they tacked back to shore. We tied them off our port side and went back to bed. 9/3/10 - Yellow sky at dawn... what does that mean? Ruth & I took Jeff & Beverly by dinghy to the yacht club so they could do their wash, then the two of us walked downtown for brunch at the Loyalist Inn. Fortified with a good meal I showed Ruth the town she'd missed earlier this summer when she was recovering from her mussel meal. The latest hurricane forecast puts Earl on the NW shore of Nova Scotia; actually about as close to Miles as us. We will be in the higher winds, gusts to 120 kilometers (~90mph). We took down our wind direction and wind speed instruments as they are expensive to replace if they get blown away. AA is now as storm ready as we can get her... nothing to do but wait. 9/4/10 - The leading edge of the storm moved in just after midnight with rain and winds. Bradd recorded 59 knots in our sheltered area. The government pier provided the protection we expected and our boats rocking in small waves and wind gusts. Around noon the rain stopped and so did the wind. Our barometer read 958. Patches of blue sky and sun appeared. We were in the eye of what now was a tropical storm. In half and hour light rains proceeded gusty winds. We were back in the storm but it had lost its punch. By late afternoon the sky was blue with a few clouds scurrying east like they'd missed their train. 9/5/10 - We woke to sunny blue skies and wind. It was almost as windy as the tail of the hurricane. We spent the morning putting the boat back together so we could move to anchor by the yacht club. My biggest project was to heat and slide the tack point for the genoa down 3-1/2 inches. Then I added a bolt as a stop so it couldn't slide up again and jam at the top of the forestay. It was too windy to go to the top of the mast and remount the wind instruments and adjust the head of the furler. By noon most of the fleet had left the shelter of the pier and moved back to the yacht club. As the wind is still in the 30's we elected to stay behind the pier until tomorrow. The four of us walked to the yacht club for WiFi, finding it closed for the weekend (Labor Day). We could receive e-mail but not transmit. Instead we decided to walk through town, stopping at a discount garment outlet (Ruth bought a couple of tops) and a supermarket. Not much storm damage, a few limbs down. A little east of us trees took down power lines leaving a couple of counties without power. We did find that one of the rafts of lobster boats near us pulled one of the pier pilings out... sure glad the others held! 9/6/10 - Another beautiful morning. We were up early getting the wind instruments and headsail back up before the wind built as forecast. I sewed a small seam on our sail and did a couple of repairs to the sun cover on Sampatecho's headsail. Before I could raise our headsail Ruth had to haul me up the mast to fix a small issue with the furler we'd found while taking the sail down (the head car was jammed at the top). The repair went smoothly and we soon had the sail up and furled. Good timing as the wind was coming up already. We are now anchored just off the yacht club on the historic Shelburne waterfront. Things are all back in place and we're ready to head to the Cape Cod Canal, 2 days and a night away. We're waiting for the right weather. Tom, Beverly and Jeff left for the USA early this afternoon. They are in a tight time crunch - miles to go and no more vacation. 9/7/10 - Another beautiful, sunny, windy morning. We had a quiet day, took a long walk and picked up some groceries. Back on the boat we read and played with Buddy. After dinner I went to Sampatecho for blueberry pie and a chance to meet the couple from Raven again (Ruth elected to stay aboard and finish a book she was reading). He's a working oceanographer taking observations as they sail. They'd spent part of the summer in Newfoundland - it's sounds very remote and interesting. They were in the area where the government is relocating the inhabitants of isolated fishing communities stranded by the meager catches and quotas. 9/8/10 - The forecast nailed it today, woke to grey skies and an unfavorable wind. We are now considering an 82 hour 518 mile offshore run from here to Cape May if the forecasts for the end of the week pan out. We moved to another spot in the anchorage to try to improve our WiFi connection... no joy. It sure is an iffy technology. 9/9/10 - A beautiful day, very little breeze. Raven left a little after sun rise, we'll be departing as soon as Ruth gets back from town. We'll likely not have a connection for 3-4 days as we plan to sail to Cape May, NJ, 518 miles away. We motor sailed out of the inlet into a fog. The abandoned lighthouse at the tip of McNutt's Island looked like a apparition from another time wrapped in dirty gauze. We're headed for Nantucket. As we neared Cape Sable the water and air temperatures dropped dictating that we don coats and footwear. Nova Scotia was saying good bye in the same mood she greeted us. We've started our system of 3 hour watches, I took the first from 1pm to 3, then Ruth took over. 9/10/10 - Dawn broke over a vast waterscape during Ruth's watch (actually just as I was coming on deck for my watch). Stunning is the only word for the sunrise; reds, purples, yellow and blues. We had sailed most of the night and we charging along at 7.5 knots, our hull speed. Ruth related she'd seen dolphins and luminescent squid during her night watches. I'd seen the squid myself and a dolphin joined me that watch. The wind built to 15 - 25 knots from the NW so we were sailing close hauled in 18 - 28 knots of apparent wind with a reefed main and reefed headsail. The confused seas were running 6' and we were falling off their tops, slamming into the trough. Everything not tied down in the cabin was being distributed around on the floor. We were visited during the day by a beautiful peach colored land bird. It took shelter under our dodger for a while, resting? After thoroughly inspecting the boat it left only to return a couple more times. A Coast Guard cutter announced a security zone of 15nm radius for a live fire exercise. They'd be lobbing shells in that zone. Bradd asked for clarification and was advised that yes, we were in the zone, they knew we were there and that it would take us a few hours to exit the zone. They were keeping an eye on us and shooting the other direction. Thank you! Late afternoon we were sailing in a hole of sunshine surrounded by a threatening black-purple wall of clouds. As Ruth went below for her off watch she comment on how much she'd hoped to spot a large whale - no joy. Fifteen minutes into my watch I was trying to figure out what a large square white object was on the horizon. It looked ghostly against the dark sky; but there should be no buildings visible. A ship? No, it lacked substance. WOW! The spume from a whale blowing! I woke Ruth and we watched as several whales surfaced just enough to blow. It was like have a series of fountains around us. As we watch a very large Right whale breach; a whale larger than our two boats broke the surface and launched itself into the air... only the tip of its tail remained in the water. Ruth finally got to see her whales. The wind and confused seas wore us out. Sleep on off-watches was fitful at best and meals became sandwiches. By evening we'd decided to seek shelter in P-town or Nantucket. The wind voted, Nantucket it was. We'd have to negotiate the reefs below Cape Cod in the dark - goodie. 9/11/10 - We watched dawn break over Cape Cod as we threaded our way through Pollock's Rapid Cut enroute to Nantucket and a safe harbor for the day. Wind and waves, with a forecast for strong westerly winds made us decide to rest for a day before pushing on. At 5:30am we dropped anchor and hit the sack. We'd covered 276nm in 42 hours hours; an average speed of 6.5 knots. Because Nantucket isn't a port of entry we're in quarantine until we clear customs; technically we can't be here but I'd rather have an issue with Customs versus have the Coast Guard doing a rescue because we were over-tired and landed on a reef. 9/12/10 - Up with the birds, the sun was just rising and Sampatecho was already gone. We hoisted anchor and motored out of the harbor enroute to New Bedford. 15 - 18 knot winds from aft pushed us as we motor-sailed with the genoa. We had 2-3.5 knot tidal current against us most of the way. After clearing woods Hole the current abated leaving us 2 hours from New Bedford. Ruth phone customs and arranged for them to board us at the New Bedford Yacht Club dock in South Dartmouth (Padanaram) where we'd arranged a dock face for them to board and a mooring for the night. After a hour wait a customs agent boarded and spent about 5 minutes checking our paperwork and welcoming us home. We moved to a $50 Yacht Club mooring for the night. 9/13/10 - I was up by 7am, making coffee, talking to Buddy and working on the computer. Ruth is setting our itinerary as we work our way to Annapolis for the boat show. She's looking forward to the chance to really tell me where to go. We started our day with brunch at Cecily's; a great breakfast sandwich on whole wheat served by a very foxy young hostess. Then we sought out an ATM - about an hour's walk through a quaint and pricy town. We enjoyed the exercise and the homes. At noon we headed toward one of Ruth's glassing Mecca's, Dutch Island near Newport, RI (why am I not surprised). We anchored near the island so Ruth can glass tomorrow while I set up a new host for rbhammer.com. Talked to Miles; they are in Boston and will likely catch up with us by Port Washington when we visit David and Leslie. 9/14/10 - We woke to a beautiful morning. A fog was in the trees west of us while we were in sunshine. Ruth rushed through her coffee while watching a deer on Dutch Island, then headed there herself. I logged on and began learning a new skill set. I've been printing volumes of instruction tutorials preparing for the changeover. Creating a one person paper shortage. Ruth had an interesting day beach glassing. Her favorite find was an old army button, perhaps from the days when Dutch was a gun placement or later when it was a POW camp for Germans. We went to bed under clear skies while listening to the wind playing with our rigging. 9/15/10 - The wind whistled all night as AA bounce on the chop that was whipped up. The sun rose in clear skies brushed clear by 10 - 15 knot winds. Ruth went glassing again in the morning; found several nice pieces but no surprises. I worked on cleaning up files on the computer and moving some of our photo archives to CD's. I waiting for feedback from Bluehost's tech staff before trying to switch to their server. After lunch we motor sailed to Point Judith and up to the Salt Pond where we anchored to visit Rich and Carol of The Great Catsby. We walked up the hill and visited with them and Norm for a couple of hours. Talked to Miles on the phone, they will pass us tomorrow enroute to the islands near Mystic. We'll catch up with them next week. |
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Sampatecho and Another Adventure snuggled in with the fleet for the storm
This was one of 4 ships that were our wind blocks. The ants standing on the dock near the stern of the ship are men.
This is another of the large fishing boats that shielded us. The school bus next to it gives you a sense of its size.
As the storm tapered off (45 knot winds) we sat in virtually calm water thanks to the pier and ships that surrounded us Earl baby We watched Earl from birth as he worked his way north. Guessing the destination of one of these storms is like trying to figure out where the tip of a whip is going to be next and how hard it's going to sting. Earl wasn't any better. First it was a near miss, then a direct hit, next it looking like Miles & Laureen were in its path in Boothbay Maine, then it was the Bay of Fundy; finally it was a direct hit. I'd never had the opportunity to actually watch the needle on a barometer move. As the storm approached ours fell like a second hand on a clock to 958. Hurricanes usually loose power when they hit land or cold water, becoming tropical storms. Earl didn't have any land in his way and everyone had been commenting all summer about how unusually warm the water was. That didn't bode well for us. We were hoping for a miss to the east, putting us in the historically weaker NW quadrant of the storm. We got a direct hit with the eye passing over us. Fortunately by then Earl barely qualified as a hurricane - rapidly on his way to becoming a tropical storm. For us it was a very good thing... though it was kewl to look into the eye of the hurricane. How windy was it? We heard local reports of 65 with some gusts in the 90's. A couple of times I stuck my head out of the companionway to check lines for chaffing... I had to wear my diving mask and snorkel as the rain really stung. Tom was crawling along their deck with his diving mask on check fenders. After the first heavy wave of rain passed Bradd went on the deck of the boat next to him to check lines. As I watched a gust hit him that would have knocked him over if he hadn't quickly grabbed a side stay. Sure glad we didn't get caught at sea by that storm.
The Nantucket waterfront as viewed from our anchorage. The large white boat is the ferry from the mainland. Not having a place to clear customs we can look but we can't touch. Until we clear customs we are required to fly a yellow "Q" flag from our starboard flag halyard advising that we are healthy and ready for the Customs Officer. Until we are cleared we cannot leave the vessel and no one other than a government official can board her (hmmm, wonder if the "Q" flag would repel pirates) Fortunately we've been here before with Amy & Lofton.
Fast ferries provide a quick link with the mainland. They give me gray hairs when it's foggy as they appear on and cross our radar screen like a streak.
In Dartmouth, actually the town of Padanaram, we had brunch at Cecily's
We went for a walk to find an ATM. Their sidewalks are green, adding a quaint touch to a cute town.
Ruth liked the old library, now the office for a non-profit organization
The building gives you a flavor of the village... you'll have to visit to appreciate the rest. Changing web servers My current challenge is moving our website from The DRG's server to Bluehost. The server we are currently using is being retired the end of the month (many thanks to Robert and Ron for supporting us since this site was created). That has put me on a steep learning curve as I attempt to move and consolidate the domain registrar, site content and e-mail to a new server... quickly. Hey, what doesn't blow your brain makes you smarter. If you loose us be patient, like a bad check we will return.
Newport bridge viewed from our Dutch Island anchorage
12 meter's racing off Newport - there we 10 of the gallant ladies out that day |
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