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A few more notes about "Leg 2"

Aimee has been doing a great job of keeping the blog updated with all of our adventures. She asked me to add a few notes about the last trip and some of the adventures we had. Unfortunately I didn't take a lot of pictures along the way, but I managed to "pirate" some from the Internet to give a visual account of the journey.

As Aimee mentioned there are a lot of logistics involved in this type of travel. This last leg required no less than 2-3 days of planning to arrange the details of transportation, gear, course plotting, and interpretation of weather forecasts. Through a friend of Randy's, we were even in contact with Bob, a professional weather router, who gave us updates both before, and during the trip. ( http://www.ocean-pro.com/htmfiles/routing2.htm)

After not getting much sleep during the week, due to Madelyn having a cold, I left early Thursday morning headed for New Jersey. Along the way I stopped in Manhattan to meet my friend Myung for lunch. The traffic was very heavy due to the large political event at the U.N., requiring our visit to be cut short. Nevertheless it was nice to meet up with him. I headed back off of the island, and after almost getting a $125 parking ticket, and getting lost briefly, met up with Randy who was doing business in the Bronx. We loaded up his gear into my car and headed south.

Our next stop was to meet my sister Vera, who had kindly picked up the life raft we purchased in Pennsylvania, and agreed to meet us on our way and drop it off. Traffic, and a few wrong turns, kept her waiting nearly 2 hours. Despite the delay, she greeted us warmly with a smile and a hug. (What a great sister!) After picking up some food and drink for the trip ahead, we were on our way. Unfortunately the instructions once again failed us, and we lost some more time before finally arriving in Barnegat Light at 8pm. Vince, who runs the local boat rental, had promised to shuttle us out to our boat, but had been waiting now over 3 hours for our arrival. Despite his frustration, he stayed a good sport, and helped us load everything on board before wishing us well on the voyage ahead.

We stored our goods, surveyed the boat, and after a quick toast, we were on our way. It was now almost 11pm.

The night was clear, and the winds calm as we headed south. We passed Atlantic City, NJ with its well lit skyline of casinos and nightlife illuminating the dark night sky. As the clock turned midnight, the winds began to build out of the NE, with the seas increasing in succession. By morning the weather was rough, but manageable. Neither one of us got much sleep throughout the night as our adrenaline was high, and we needed time to adjust to the motion of the boat and the sea.

Throughout the next day the weather worsened. While it was still manageable, we continued to debate whether to continue on the outside passage, or turn west in search of calmer conditions. Bob, our weather router, kept us abreast of the latest developments. and we consulted the on-board satellite and radio weather devices for further information. During the afternoon we enjoyed a break in the clouds that had been increasing since morning, and with the autopilot engaged, took a moment to relax and enjoy the ride. We were even joined by two birds, who dropped in for a visit despite the 2o+ mile distance to shore.

As night fell the conditions worsened. We had decided to continue offshore, but after realizing that we would need to hand steer the entire way, made the decision to head west into the Chesapeake Bay and take the Inter Coastal Waterway south. The winds increased to over 30 knots and we saw seas topping 12 feet before we were entrenched in darkness. The boat required our full attention to keep it heading down the waves in order to prevent us from being broadsided. We clocked a top speed of 14.5 knots as we surfed d own wave after wave! The exhaustion of the past 24 hours, together with the rough seas, left our stomachs uneasy, and we were glad when the weather calmed as we entered Norfolk harbor. Beaten and exhausted, we dropped anchor and slept for 4 hours.

We rose just before 8am to get an early start on the canal. As we motored through the harbor, we were amazed at the vast size of the shipyards and navy vessels. As Aimee noted earlier, we proceeded through numerous bridges, most of which had to be contacted in advance to open so we could fit through. We even had to pass through the Great Bridge Lock - a first for me!

While most most bridge tenders were friendly and helpful, one female tender decided she would simply not let us through! I hailed her on the radio at a few minutes before the scheduled hourly opening, and within sight of the bridge. After making our request she replied that the bridge opens on the hour. Seeing that it was in 3 minutes few headed full steam ahead toward the bridge. As we got close, the gates had still not been lowered, and the closed steel bridge loomed as quite the obstacle to our forward progress! Randy hailed her again on the radio, and she now informed us that as it was a few minutes past the hour we would need to wait a full hour until the next opening! I was floored! Luckily a tug approached withing a few minutes who, through an exchange with the bridge tender (and I think a call to her superiors), had her apologizing and opening the bridge to let us both through. The next boat wasn't so lucky.

The day progressed with pleasant weather, and we ticked away the miles toward our destination. In the afternoon we stopped to refuel and chat with some fellow cruisers. We crossed into the Albemarle Sound in the early evening where we encountered strong winds and choppy seas. Estella punched close-hauled into the waves, and the spray flew up from the bow. Luckily it would only be a few hour crossing, allowing us to enjoy the excitement without getting too exhausted. The weather here though confirmed that we had made the right decision to travel further inland. Dealing with even higher wind, and much higher waves offshore, for 24 or more hours would simply not have been manageable with our small crew, and the little rest we received.

At dusk we entered the mouth of the Alligator River. Randy was at the wheel, and I was tending to the sails when Estella suddenly lurched forward! We had run aground! According to all of our navigational aids we were right in the middle of the channel! We threw the engine into reverse, and with the help of the sails, were able to get Estella floating again within a few minutes. Whew!We made a second attempt at the entrance. This time I was at the wheel and we decided to try a little bit further to starboard, proceeding both slowly and cautiously. No luck! We ran aground again! We freed the boat only to be aground again in a matter of minutes. This was not good! The sun had now set and we struggled in the darkness to get the boat off the shoal. Again no luck! With each attempt it seemed we were getting pushed up higher onto the shoal. Estella now leaned to one side, and the waves lapped up against the hull. It began to rain. We decided to make some dinner and regroup. Randy (a trained chef) cooked up some delicious chicken and broccoli in garlic sauce. The warm meal hit the spot. After dinner I tried to hail a sea towing company on the radio, but was unable to make any contact. My cell phone showed no service, and we attempted contact via satellite phone. Eventually we got through, and spoke with the local towing service. The man suggested we wait until morning, as completing the maneuver in the dark would be very difficult and time-consuming. Apparently the insurance will cover the towing only if it can be accomplished within an hour's time. If it took longer I would be looking at a bill of around $5,000. Ouch!! I hung up disappointed and uneasy. We had hoped that the tides, according to nearby tidal charts, would start coming in and together with the changing wind help lift Estella off the hard. But the towing agent informed us that there would be no tides in our immediate area. Greatly discouraged, we shut everything down and went to bed.

After sleeping about an hour, I was awoken by the increasing banking and creaking noises from Estella being repeatedly knocked against the ground by the building waves. I checked our position and concluded that we were being pushed even higher onto the shoal. We had to do something. I woke Randy and we went at it again, trying to free Estella from the precarious situation. At this point it was becoming difficult to suppress my anxiety. Nothing seemed to be helping! After some prayer and another look at our position, we determined that we had in fact moved further eastward, thus moved into slightly deeper water. That was encouraging! We continued to struggle for a good hour before Estella finally floated free. Hallelujah!!

We tried once more through the narrow cut, as backtracking through the sound to a safe anchorage was too long and rough of a journey to attempt. This time we were successful! We motored through the high winds, rain, and darkness, through one more bridge, until we reached a protected anchorage were we could stop for the night. What an adventure! I went to sleep elated to be safe and sound, and have a least 3 to 4 hours of sleep ahead.

The next morning we woke to sunny skies and a hot cup of coffee. We were both glad to have last night behind us. After checking the weather I learned that the spot we were stuck in last night was forecasted to have 50 knot winds this morning! That would not have been good! While we would not have been in any serious danger, Estella would most likely have suffered serious damage from the pounding. Although our insurance would cover it, the destruction would have surely affected our morale, travel schedule, and dented our pocketbook. Thankfully this was not the case! I went about doing some maintenance to the engine, and going over the boat. Everything looked pretty good, with only some minor (and probably unrelated) problems. We headed out for the day.

With the exception of one major downpour, the day was sunny, warm, and absolutely beautiful. We motored through the narrow canal surrounded by swamp on both sides. This was my first time in such terrain and I was impressed by its beauty. For lunch we cooked up some cheeseburgers on the grill, while basking in the sun and enjoying some good music on the stereo.

In the afternoon we entered the Pamlico River, though not before running aground another 3 times in the canal! The daylight and nice weather made it easier to deal with, and we were able to get freed quickly each time. Randy had the good idea of contacting the tug behind us for some local knowledge of the conditions, as each time we were positioned properly within the channel indicated on our charts. Since the tug drew 9 feet of water, and Estella only 6, we decided to allow the tug to pass and follow him out into the deeper waters. Once there we set sail into a beautiful setting sun.

In the evening we turned into Adams Creek still following the tug. This turned out to be helpful once again, as without him, we would have surely grounded numerous times. At some points the GPS chartplotter was showing us on land, while we were motoring in over 20 feet of water. I had to learn that while navigational aids are important and very helpful, they are not always correct. A good mariner needs to consult every little piece of information available to make the best assessment of the situation. We also learned that by positioning our vessel just to the outside of the tug's propwash we could increase our speed by almost 2 knots! (much like dolphins riding the bow wave of a ship) Cool!

We pulled in to the marina a little before 11pm. Ted the night watch greeted us, and since the Tiki bar was closed, invited us aboard his boat for a welcome drink. Rum and tonic. A nice finish to a long and challenging trip. After a little more celebration aboard our boat, we retired to a good night's sleep.

The next day was spent arranging for the Estella's stay until November and arranging our transportation back home. This time I made sure we had a GPS in the rental as I did not want to add any time to the already 18+hour drive back. After the chores we complete, we headed out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant: The Beaufort Grocery Store. (http://www.beaufortgrocery.com/bgcmain.html) The food was fabulous, and we were served with true southern hospitality. Then back to the boat and off to bed.

We woke at 2am in order to get a head start on the journey home, and make it through New York City without getting stuck in traffic. I found myself continuously wondering when the sun was going to rise, only to look at the clock and realize it was still hours away. But just as we began to cross the 20 mile Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel, the sun peaked over the horizon creating a breath taking view of the water and dunes.

We continued north, needing to make a detour in Delaware, as the GPS directed us to the Delaware Bay ferry without providing any indication of doing so. While the ride would have been nice, the wait time for the ferry would have added an additional hour or more to our trip. The rest of the trip was long, though shortened by good conversation and the comedy channels on satellite radio. After dropping Randy off in New York, I arrived back in Newburyport just after 8pm - an 18hour drive! (my longest yet!)

Now it is time for some quality family time, catching up on work, and making the final preparations and plans for the next leg of our trip. Thanks again to Randy for all of his kind and generous help. The success of the trip would not have been possible without him!

Leg # 2 is successful

After a few more interesting adventures, one of which resulted in a run aground in mud overnight in the ICW channel, Brian and Randy are homeward bound today, with a rental car driving ~ 15 hours back home. Yesterday was spent making final arrangements to keep the boat at a dock in Morehead City, North Carolina, for the next 4 weeks.

Randy has been unbelievably helpful, accomodating, and a source of sailing and life advice, as well as a great cook! Thanks again, Randy, for everything.

We are eagerly awaiting Brian's return, the girls have been asking every day about "Daddy" and have been drawing pictures for him.

Enter the ICW, Virginia

(Stock photo, ICW, )
(**you can see a bridge opening at the top of the photo, and the sailboats going in line down the waterway.)



Brian and Randy had a rough night last night. The wind and waves increased, and the clouds obscured the moonlight, so they sailed in total blackness with 4-10 foot seas. It was difficult to manage the helm for hours, as the weather was too strong for the Autopilot to take over. They tried to take turns sleeping, but the weather and seasickness prevented true rest. It seems the weather was only going to persist or worsen, so due to exhaustion they decided to turn towards shore.





At about 4:00am today they entered the Intracoastal Waterway near the Chesapeake area of Virginia. Because of timing to enter a bridge, they anchored for 3 hours and got some much-needed sleep. After that, they motored into the ICW, passing the massive Portsmouth US Navy Shipyard and now are proceeding down the channels without waves. It is much calmer. They must use only the engine, and cannot sail, since this area is more like a river. In the first few hours they went under at least 6 bridges, some of which had to be opened on schedule and required waiting.





Here is wikipedia's description of the ICW:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway



or this site, which is a Guide Book, helping cruisers know where to stop along the way:
http://www.cruiseguides.com/ME2/Default.asp


I'm hoping they will get a chance to really fully sleep today...

Offshore

Brian and Randy left late last night, for a three-to-four day sail to North Carolina. Equipped with a newly-aquired life raft, a rented Satellite phone, some groceries, and heavy weather gear, they started off at night and will plan to take turns sailing and sleeping on a 4-hour rotating schedule.

Brian called this morning, letting me know they are off the coast of Delaware, tired, but doing well overall. Wind is at their backs, 15 to 20 knots. Waves are lower than expected. They plan to "tuck in" to the Intercoastal Waterway tomorrow morning to avoid some heavier weather moving in this weekend. He plans to call daily with updates.

Randy's wife, Hope, helped me to put things into perspective this morning. We talked on the phone and she told me she is familiar with this time of waiting while her husband is underway. Once she waited 13 days to hear from Randy when he was delivering their boat to Puerto Rico! To me, it feels so long to wait until tomorrow. What an adventure...

Work is helping me stay distracted, the girls at happily playing at Omi's house today, then we plan to have some "girls time" this weekend the 3 of us.

Planning

Logistics.
Planning.
NOAA weather websites.
Purchase of liferaft and satellite phone.
Arranging finances while we will be gone.
There is so much work to do to get ready for our 3 months away!
And in the meantime working and taking care of our girls... we're exhausted....

If there is a good weather "window" this weekend or next, Brian and Randy might sail nonstop for 3-4 days from Barnegat Light NJ to North Carolina, trying to get further and further south. Thanks so much for your help, Randy!

Barnegat Light, NJ

We arrived in Barnegat Light, NJ on Long Island Beach a few days ago, and have spent a lot of time preparing the boat for our departure. Lots of logistics, planning where to keep it, and arranging transportation back home. We arrived last night and start back at work today. More later....

to New York City!

We had a good time in Stratford CT. Brian arranged for an engine mechanic to do the final adjustments on our head gasket, while Aimee took the girls to town for hours of fun at the playground and library. Madelyn and Katja even joined in for an hour-long kids' music class at the library, which was a suprise for all. While they napped, we left the dock, filled both fuel tanks at the marina dock, and left to move on to further our trip westward.

For the past 2 days we have had rain, patchy fog, waves, and lots of wind. We're soggy and tired, especially Brian who has spent hours at our helm fighting to keep our course. Last night we found a protected anchorage at Sheffield Island near Norwalk CT. On land we could see a beautiful stone lighthouse: http://www.lighthouse.cc/sheffield/. Our anchor held strong in about 25 knots of wind all night.

Today we sailed all day in the rain, waves and winds (20-25 knots, with gusts to 35-40 knots max at times). Aimee snapped our staysail furling line, while trying to furl it in on a winch, and Brian was able to save it before it flapped around too much. Even with these challenges, we were able to go through the East River timed to flow with the currents, through New York City! Despite the fog and rain, we were still thrilled tourists, snapping photos of the bridges as we went under them, the skyscrapers, and even got a few fuzzy pictures of the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, the girls are too small to really appreciate it. They spent almost the whole day down below, and were troopers and still managed to play games, watch their favorite shows, and generally tolerated it well. Madelyn did tell us "I really don't like it when the boat goes over the bumps." After a warm dinner tonight, we feel cozy and are looking forward to all cuddling together in the aft cabin for a warm night's sleep.

We are tucked into a calm harbor tonight on Coney Island. Tomorrow we plan to go our final destination, somewhere in New Jersey, yet to be decided, where we will keep our boat for weeks until we leave for our bigger trip this Fall.

Stratford, Connecticut

We sailed during the early part of today, from 5:30am until 2:00pm, from Fishers Island, NY to Stratford, CT. It was overcast most of the way, with the wind at our backs helping us along. During the morning, the current also was in our favor. At one point, Brian clocked over 9 knots of speed. We were flying!

Along the way, we passed New London, CT, where we purchased our boat in 2005. We remember that the Wilson's from Indianapolis joined us for our first weekend on board, with baby Isaac, in a busy channel with lots of wake from a passing ferry. You were our first guests! We have learned so much about sailing and living on boats since then...

We chose to dock instead of anchor this time. Our first task was to wash the boat, which had accumulated lots of salt and grime this summer. This took hours. The girls "helped" in their swimsuits and lifejackets, then napped. Afterwards we went ashore for dinner at a nearby restaurant. We laughed to ourselves when a nearby well-dressed gentleman leaned casually back in his chair with his glass of wine, telling his friends he just took a 3-hour train ride here from Boston. Hmmmm.... how many days have we been gone?

Sailing makes us more involved with nature and the elements. We feel refreshed in the salty air breezes, and physically fatigued from the challenges involved. We are much more conscious of our relationship with weather (we added more docklines for the wind and rain tonight to help stabilize our boat), and with energy usage (since most of the time we need our own internal energy sources). Tonight at the dock, we are attached to shore power, and it may be tempting to not care at all about how much energy we use. But it is now on my mind more often. We also are limited by the water we have onboard for cleaning and showering; although our huge tanks currently last us about 2 weeks.

Most importantly, we also are more aware of our dependence on each other, within our marriage and family, but also in the boating community. It seems as if on land there is a strong belief that each person is completely independent, and simply chooses when and how he or she will allow others into their lives. This kind of "independence" is an illusion that is revealed in times of disaster or tragedy (ie. Hurricane Katrina, diagnosis of cancer, etc...). Here we know for sure that we need each other. We don't have to wonder.

We plan to stay here until our engine work is finished.... probably leaving on Friday to move further west.

Fishers Island, NY

After a breakfast of omelets and toast, we left Newport Tuesday morning around 11am. For the rest of the day, we sailed westward to Fishers Island, at the eastern edge of Long Island Sound. We arrived ~ 4:30pm to a quiet anchorage.

We use our “Cruising Guide” daily, which explains local knowledge of the area, including phone numbers and information about marinas and good anchor spots. It also tells us the characteristics of the bottom (sand, mud, rock, gravel, etc). We have a choice of 2 of our anchors to use, depending on the bottom described. Brian struggled with our heavy chain for almost 1/2hr to untangle a huge knot in the chain. As he progressed, he realized that the source of the problem was a tiny hammock used to store bedside items in our forward “V” berth where the girls like to play. One of our mischievous little girls must have tucked it inside the anchor compartment, but neither one of them will fess up. 

The anchorage was so calm and beautiful. We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset during dinner (Portuguese sausage with beans and rice), then after dark we played games. We relaxed in the cockpit looking out over the still water. I saw what I thought were ducks gliding near our boat. Brian shined a flashlight on them – they were swans! We fed them a few crackers and the girls loved it! What a surprise!

This morning (Wednesday) we left the anchorage at Fishers Island at 5:30am to correspond with the tides and currents. We continue to sail westward. Our plan is to stop in Stratford, Connecticut at a marina this afternoon. Tomorrow Brian has reservations with the mechanics at one of the marinas to finish some routine engine work.

Enjoy the photos.
Bear with me as I figure out how to send videos.


Aimee

Newport R.I.

We had a great time today exploring Newport. After moving to a city rental mooring closer to town, we ventured in our dinghy around the harbor and saw a 'whole new world' of mega-yachts, up to hundreds of feet long with depths up to 30 feet. Our jaws dropped and we couldn't hide our amazement. One motor yacht even had a heli-pad and helicopter on board! Here is a photo of Madelyn and Brian with some of the boats behind them.

We found a playground, and had lunch at a Japanese/Korean restaurant. After naps on our boat, we went back into town, walking to the grocery store for more provisions. We played games after dinner, now the girls are sleeping, and we are planning our course for tomorrow. We'll probably leave here around noontime, and head towards Block Island R.I. or farther towards Long Island Sound. We'll keep you posted! Enjoy this video of Katja this afternoon...

Aimee

Cape Cod Canal, and Entrance to Buzzards Bay

Last night our calm anchorage in Plymouth Harbor became more exciting after midnight, when the winds picked up speed and the tides and current swung the boat around. Luckily, the girls slept through the whole thing and our anchor held strongly. Brian and I didn't sleep much, though. The combination of wondering if our anchor was dragging, hearing different sounds, and feeling the rocking with the waves and wind did not provide much chance for that.

All of us slept in and headed out of the harbor at breakfast. It was clear and sunny, but windy with 6-8 foot waves at the mouth of the harbor. Some waves were even 12 feet! It was definitely challenging. With the help of our personal pharmacy, none of us got too seasick, except Madelyn a little bit (since she didn't want to take the medication at the beginning).

The Cape Cod Canal was really enjoyable. The water in the man-made canal was flat and there was not much wind. This made lunch possible. :) On either side, there are high banks with long bike trails. You can see people on benches, roller blading, or biking and waving to the boats going by. We went with the fast current, and even reached 12 knots of speed, which is twice our usual sailing speed. It took just under 1 hour, then opened into Buzzards Bay. For the rest of the day, we sailed westward through the bay, hoping to make it to Newport, Rhode Island before dark. It was windy, and we lost a few quick reference cards in the wind, but it was a lot more tolerable than the morning. The girls enjoyed fresh air, sunshine, and games while in their lifejackets up in the cockpit. They like to pretend the rails on the bimini are their "tricycles" and the pedal along with the boat and race each other.

We arrived in Newport Harbor just at sunset. The mansions were breathtaking on the cliffs at the entrance. We saw flashes from cameras at an outdoor wedding on the grounds. By this time, the girls were fast asleep. Aimee made at least 20 calls to various marinas, but they were all full, since it is the last night of the holiday weekend. Finally, as we were literally dropping our anchor just by Fort Adams, we got a phone call "It is your lucky day, you just got the last open mooring in the entire harbor!". Newport, a capital of sailing vessels, is littered with hundreds of boats. We were relieved to have a place to stay, and we're looking forward to a good night's sleep.

We will stay in Newport a few nights, and do some sight-seeing. Madelyn has requested a visit to the library and a toy store. We'll keep you posted.

Here is a photo of our mast as we went under one of the bridges in Cape Cod Canal.

We begin!

Hello!

This is our first blog entry for our sailing trip. Eventually, this blog will hopefully include Florida and the Bahamas! For now, we are taking things one day at a time.

The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity including major engine repairs and a frustrating experience with a new refrigeration system. Brian spent hours installing the new system, only to later replace the faulty one from the company with a new one. Now it works and we even have ice cream and frozen meat on board. Then, we were briefly delayed on vacation this week because of Brian's consulting job and some last-minute boat projects needed tweaking. It is exciting to finally begin...

We left Newburyport this morning around 8:30am, showered and had breakfast underway. By 10am we arrived at the Annisquam River, and embarked on the twists, turns, and low-clearance bridges awaiting us on the Blynam Canal. There were some tricky moments, but Brian remained calm and we successfully got through to Gloucester. The girls enjoyed their DVD "down below" in the cabin and were mesmerizingly quiet, which helped us to concentrate.

We motor-sailed in sunny weather south for the rest of the day. The girls loved playing with their new puzzles and singing the same songs 100 times. :) The water was beautiful, and Madelyn's imagination was active as always. She exclaimed "Mommy! One of the sparkles on water is swimming towards us! Look! It jumped on my lap! It wants to stay with us on our trip!" Here is a photo...

After calculating tides/currents, we decided not to tackle the Cape Cod Canal today under less than favorable conditions. We will stay tonight in Plymouth. I called all the marinas in Plymouth Harbor, but they were full of Labor Day boaters. So, we anchored in a beautiful area in Cowyard, where the Pilgrims anchored originally.

Tonight we were treated to a handful of local firework shows on shore, as well as a red setting sun followed shortly by a beautiful full red moon. Brian and I were remembering Labor Day 2004, when we charted a boat in the Chesapeake with Erik and Vera and visited Annapolis. We've come a long way since then...

Aimee, Brian, Madelyn and Katja