Luna Cruise: Part 1 - Northward to Maine
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Quick Update
Greetings and welcome to the Luna Cruise blog.
I have no photos to include today but I wanted to give you all a quick update on preparations for the long awaited cruise of the Luna.
First, negotiations for crew are on-going with some commitments and others pending.
On the boat, I purchased and installed additional anchor chain as we have been advised that, when anchoring in New England waters, it is necessary to have much more chain than we normally use when anchoring in the bay's shallow waters and muddy bottoms.
Second, I ordered a small radar unit as we do not want to be trying to enter a harbor in the fog. Although we plan to try to avoid sailing in the fog, it will likely happen at least a few days. Our GPS unit will get us into the harbor alright but it will not warn us of other traffic.
Third, the new holding tank is closer to a reality. I removed the old tank today and will order the new, larger one next week. The yard will install it along with the direct-overboard pump system as mentioned in a previous posting.
Lastly, Anne has purchased the fabric needed to make new slip covers for all the cushions on the boat.
That's it for now. I'll post more as we progress on these and other projects.
Anne and John
Pearson 35 Luna
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Progress as of April 19, 2010
Greetings again,
We have made some progress on projects mentioned in the last posting. The holding tank is now in place and plumbing is in progress, the radar should be installed this week, the main cabin has been repainted, the cushion covers are in progress but proving to be quite an undertaking. And time is ticking quickly by.
More soon so stay tuned.
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Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Luna Cruise Update - May 18, 2010
Greetings to all Luna Cruise Bloggers,
Several things have happened since the last update not the least of which is that, as of May 7, I have retired!!!
During the first week, we worked hard to get the yard-work done and the house clean so that on Saturday May 15, we could have a retirement party. This event brought 45 friends and family including relatives from the west coast, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Vermont, and the US Virgin Islands. The party was great fun and ended up with a few of us sitting around the fire pit in the back yard enjoying an open fire in the cool evening with Tiki torches flickering around us.
Preparations continue on Luna with engine work now scheduled and a new canvas guy on board to do some minor canvas work
We did a sea trial with the engine guy on board and he confirmed that the noise that I have been hearing is not the transmission but possibly the cutlass bearing. He will check it when he services the engine. The final cable piece has now been spliced allowing the radar display to be installed.
We have decided to bring a small portable generator so that batteries can be charged without having to run the main engine. This and a 2-hp outboard have been ordered with delivery expected this week.
Departure for Cape May remains projected to June 10 with departure from Cape May bound for Block Island on or about June 18.
More soon,
John
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Thursday, June 3, 2010
One Week to Departure
Hello Luna Cruise Bloggers,
We are down to one week to go. We are frantically trying to get last minute things done; most recently, making linings using cotton sheets for our new but rather cheap sleeping bags.
The boat is pretty much ready except for a shake-down cruise which will have to happen soon or our first leg to Cape May will have to be our shake-down cruise.
We have tried out the new little Honda 2-hp outboard on the dinghy with Anne, me and the grand kids on board and it went along very nicely.
Yesterday, we met with the couple that got us going on this whole cruise for a year idea. We haven't seen them for nearly three years but we recognized them and had a good productive talk with lots of recommendations. One thing they suggested was to carry the dinghy on the foredeck while off shore and to load it by picking it up by its bow-eye. We will try this during the shake-down and see how it works.
I will post another edition in the next few days.
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Thursday, June 10, 2010
9:00 PM aboard Luna at Chesapeake City, MD
Greetings to all Luna Cruise bloggers
This will be a quick posting as it is already 9:00 PM and we have had a very long day on the first day of our cruise.
Briefly, we departed Middle River at about 11:00 AM in company with another boat and motored, motor-sailed and sailed up to the anchorage at Chesapeake City on the C&D Canal. We arrived at 6:00 PM, had a simple dinner and plan to head the rest of the way through the canal (12 miles) and then 48 miles down the Delaware River and Bay to Cape may New Jersey. Hopefully, all will go smoothly and we will not be too late getting to Cape May.
I will probably send the next posting from there.
Anne and John
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Saturday, June 12, 2010
Chesapeake City to Cape May
Greetings Luna Cruise Bloggers,
After a quiet night in Chesapeake City along the C&D Canal (connects the north end of Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River), we set out at 7:30 AM headed for Cape May.
We enjoyed a robust favorable current through the remaining 12 miles of the canal but when we hit the Delaware River, it was a different story. For several miles we bucked a 1 to 1.5 knot adverse current. After a while, however, it reversed and again we had a favorable current. This current was with us for much of the trip down Delaware Bay but as we got to within six or eight miles of the entrance to the Cape May Canal, the tide changed and it was once again against us. We also had the wind on the nose so we were slowed by both. The good news was that wind and current in the same direction flattened out the chop.
We dropped anchor at 7:30 PM in Cape May Harbor after 12 boring hours of mostly motoring.
Today (6/12), we are taking it easy, napping and relaxing, getting caught up on e-mail and sending blog posts.
We will be here for a few days and then, with two others as crew, we will head out into the Atlantic off the coast of New Jersey for 200 mile run from here to Block Island.
I'll send some photos as time permits.
John aboard Luna
Cape May, NJ
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Cape May, New Jersey, June 16, 2010
Greetings Luna Cruise Bloggers,
We are now in our last day in Cape May having been here since last Friday. Tomorrow morning, if all goes as planned, we will be boarding two crew members who will sail with us to Block Island. This 200-mile stretch of open water can be a piece of cake if the weather is good or a rough passage if it is bad. We decided to take the precaution of having extra hands aboard in case it is the latter. Currently, we are in the middle of a heavy rain shower but it is tapering off and the forecast for tomorrow and the next couple of days is favorable.
Two electrical problems have cropped up; one just today. The Xantrex amp-hour meter that is supposed to tell us when it is time to charge our batteries seems to have lost some of its features. It still gives voltage but the graphic display doesn't build back up when we run the engine or generator. This is actually pretty minor as battery voltage is also a pretty good measure of battery condition. The other failure is that our permanent battery charger, the one that works off shore power, is no longer working. We can still charge batteries using the main engine but we can no longer charge batteries by running the nice quiet little portable generator.
A few photographs below illustrate our trip to date. The first is a sunset shot at anchor in Chesapeake City. The second is Anne at the helm under sail in Delaware Bay. The third is of the Coast Guard cutters at the CG station in Cape May and the last is Anne composing an e-mail.
We will try to send another update from Block Island but we need to be on line to do it and I don't know if Verizon has coverage there.
That's about it for now,
John and Anne aboard Luna
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Sunday, June 20, 2010
Block Island, June 20, 2010
Greetings Luna Cruise bloggers,
After last evening's unsuccessful attempts to do a new post to the blog and due to the continuing problems encountered by folks trying to get access to the blog, we have decided to simply send mass e-mails. This is much more reliable (although not as professional looking) and we can attach photographs, they just won't be embedded in the text.
Anne and John aboard Luna
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From: John Martin
Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 10:52 PM
Subject: p-town
hi from provincetown, mass!
our trip from onset through the cape cod canal was fun. we were accompanied by our friends on pradel for just a bit...their boat is much bigger and faster but we kept in radio contact and hope to meet up with them in maine. our top speed in the canal was 8.4 knots over the ground ...a record for luna!
once out on cape cod bay we were met with 18-20 knot southwest winds making it one of our best sails so far. we arrived in wellfleet around 3 pm where our friends catharie and fred were there to greet us at the town dock. for the next few days we enjoyed their company along with some of fred's old philadelphia friends, eating wonderful food, drinking good wine, walking, biking, sailing, touring wellfleet, truro and p-town and, of course, catching up on our respective lives. what fun! anne could have stayed another week and had hoped to spend time with some other baltimore friends but schedules didn't mesh and john wants to continue our northward progress.
we left wellfleet and its challenging 5 mile long channel for provincetown. no wind...just a boring motor to the busy, sharply contrasting, "edgy" town at the tip of the cape. we hooked a mooring, went to shore and caught some of the local sights and sounds of this crowded touristy place. we also made reservations for a dune ride, something highly recommended by john's sister and our wellfleet friends and something i've been wanting to do ever since reading an article about the dune shacks that were first built back in the 30's by artists.
we're in a heat wave here so our family and friends back in baltimore who are complaining...try 88 degrees and no fan much less air conditioning. the bright spot is the water temp which is 69 degrees....worth every bit of those first few minutes getting used to it. john just can't fathom the idea! every once in awhile the breeze comes up and we get relief but mostly it's just HOT.
we did the tour this morning and it was wonderful. they don't use dune buggies anymore but instead air conditioned suvs...yes, we were in an suv, but it was great fun...the dunes are absolutely beautiful...we're going to put our name on the waiting list to stay in one of these remote, primitive shacks for a week and hope we're still alive when the national park system calls us. we did boat-keeping chores the rest of the afternoon...lunita was growing a beard and luna was pretty disgusting as well...she's still encrusted with salt but looks much better. it gave us an excuse to get wet, too.
we've met some more sailors, all friendly, with whom we hope to see in scituate where we head tomorrow.
hope you enjoyed the holiday and that for those of you on the east coast, cooler weather will come your/our way soon.
anne and john
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From: John Martin
Date: Sun, Jul 11, 2010 at 3:31 PM
Subject: salem, mass
hello from salem!
left p-town on 7/8 and enjoyed a pleasant sail part of the way to scituate. we were welcomed warmly by bob, one of the launch drivers for satuit boat club, a place highly recommended by some fellow sailors we met in p-town. the harbor was quite small and jam-packed with all sorts of vessels so once again we had to take a mooring...it's a luxury but must admit it's so much easier than anchoring. free launch service is provided in most harbors up here which really came in handy for the following day as we made numerous trips to town doing laundry, grocery shopping and visiting the marine and hardware stores for things we needed. had to replace our vhf radio but john was able to do the job quite handily. scrubbed luna's mustache while taking a refreshing dip in the 67 degree water. our cape dory friends arrived that afternoon and with bob's help, their dinghy was towed to luna for an after dinner glass of wine and lots of socializing.
we left for our respective destinations the following morning, enjoying yet another pleasant sail....thank you family and friends who've wished us fair winds and following seas...it's been grand. upon entering salem's harbor, we had some stressful minutes when our depth sounder showed 4 1/2 feet...yikes! can that be right? with rocky islands on either side, it was unsettling for sure but we couldn't see the bottom, other boats were in front and behind us so we were never sure if it was a true reading.
we went ashore to get a feel for the town and stretch our legs. the following day was spent at the magnificent peabody-essex museum. i could spend a week exploring that place but we managed to get in 3 short tours which gave us a taste of its offerings. the most interesting of the 3 tours was the 200 year old yin yu tang house transported from china and reconstructed in its original form on the museum grounds. we also saw the brand new "fiery pool" exhibit of maya and its sea connections. we toured the house of the seven gables and caught a free saturday night concert. we'd hoped to leave today for points north but small craft warnings have kept us here enjoying a lazy sunday. tis a perfectly lovely day here...hard to believe there's nasty weather out there but we're not taking any chances.
as always, it's so good to hear from you. hope you're enjoying your weekend.
love,
anne and john
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From: John Martin
Date: Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:36 PM
Subject: in maine but wet
hello from biddeford pool, maine!
for those of you who have been drooling with envy about this dream trip of ours...read on!
we left salem early on a windless, foggy monday morning (7/12) but were promised clearing by 8 am....not true. we motored through thick fog for almost 7 hours (ugh) and were trying to figure out why the fog horn at Isles of Shoals sounded like it was coming from the opposite direction of where it should have been but the sound of crashing surf was close when, miraculously, the fog lifted and we could clearly see our marks for getting into the channel for Gosport Harbor. these isolated, absolutely gorgeous islands are 6 miles off the coast of new hampshire, the largest of which is owned by the unitarian universalist and congregationalist churches for conferences and retreats. i'm ready to join the uu for sure if it would get me a ticket to spend a week out there.
right after we picked up a courtesy mooring, we heard thunder rumbling. we turned on the weather channel and learned a powerful storm was headed towards us packing 60-knot winds so...we took the necessary precautions and waited. nothing came, not even a drop of rain. by then, it was time to fix/eat dinner and get a good night's sleep. nasty weather was predicted for wed. and we didn't want to stay out there.
tuesday brought us even more fog which enveloped us on and off throughout another 7 hours of motoring to biddeford pool. the fog again lifted, just before our entrance into the harbor and a mooring. too tired to explore, we napped, fixed/ate dinner and went to bed just as the rain drops started hitting the deck. it stormed throughout the night bringing us hard, driving rain that found its way into the foreward and pilot berths. we're exposed to the ocean surge here so there was also much pitching and rolling during the night. it's supposed to rain all day and night but we're promised clearing tomorrow when we hope to get to popham beach, where anne's dear friend peggy lives. we do not dare attempt popham beach in the fog so we shall see.
so here we are in maine but we've yet to step foot on its ground. soon we hope!
the attached photos are not in order but perhaps you can guess which one should be the last?
hope things are good for you.
anne and john
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From: John Martin
Date: Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Subject: maine is getting better!
hello!
things improved considerably since we last sent an update from biddeford pool. for starters, the weather cleared enough around 5 pm that day so that we were able to explore the town and hike through a maine bird sanctuary where we saw some darling new species...unfortunately neither of us had our cameras or our bird book. i found myself fantasizing about renting one of the charming old weathered shingled houses for a month or two where we could entertain family and friends on the beautiful coast in the lovely peaceful town.
we left the next morning in sunshine which shortly was hidden by fog but this time, although we were motoring again, seals and dolphins kept us company and distracted. we had huge 6-7 foot swells that were a couple hundred feet apart reminding us of an endless mountain range. it was really quite beautiful in its own way. luna did well with it. towards the end of our passage, anne went below to neaten the cabin and discovered some smelly, wet shoes in a forward locker. she opened some more lockers and then started investigating some bilge areas and soon uncovered treated but close to raw sewage. the next hour or so was spent frantically cleaning up the ugly mess but all the while wondering how in the world it got there.
by the time we reached popham, the sky was clear. we found our way into the tiny harbor that's not even mentioned in the cruising guide as a place to overnight. we'd learned on the way there that the only other option in the area (a resort on the sebasco river) could put us on a mooring for 2 nights only but they were booked for the weekend soooo...
we luckily found another sailor who happened to be on his moored boat at popham to guide us to a safe place to drop our anchor. the tide was ebbing quickly and the bottom went from 50 feet to 15 feet in a second. as the tide receded the harbor got smaller and smaller and uncovered a rather large rock quite close to us. to prevent our swinging into it, john got in the dinghy and put out a second anchor. we enjoyed the secure anchorage for the next several days.
my dear friend, peggy, who has lived at popham for 19 years runs a b&b in a restored and converted life saving station. we'd told peggy years ago we were going to sail there and take peg and helge sailing. helge died of cancer last summer but he was in our thoughts as we toasted with champagne peg's arrival on board luna that first day.
the following morning was spent trying to locate the source of the sewage leak. as one of the photos depicts, that meant john had to crawl up into the anchor chain locker which as you will see is quite an accomplishment. we still don't know the source but the system has been thoroughly tested and has not leaked again.
peg's brother and sister in law were up from baltimore and they joined us for a perfect sail around seguin island, something peggy's been wanting to do since she moved there. how wonderful to finally see maine the way i'd remembered it. special dinners ashore at peggy's, bill and linda's and then at spinney's for lobster are all cherished memories. sipping wine up on the cupola highlighted our visit there. it was hard to leave on monday morning but seeing their waving arms out on the deck as we passed helped cheer me.
we're now in boothbay harbor and although we had to motor yet again, we had no fog, saw more seals and dolphins and the harbor is quite picturesque.
we'd planned on visiting muscongus bay and john's cousin and her husband but schedules conflicted once more. we shall see bill in bar harbor where he'll board luna for the trip south.
may this message find you well and happy.
anne and john
ps the attached photos are not in strict order because we both take photos and combine our favorites. we're sorry but we do not know how to caption them. must take a course once back to reality.
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From: John Martin
Date: Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 9:01 PM
Subject: carver cove in vinalhaven
hello! seems like a long time since i've sat here to give you an update. boothbay harbor turned into a 2 night stay. we'd been advised to skip it by a few sailor friends but we found it kind of fun. it has a free trolley that runs all through town which we used to get to a grocery store to buy a few forgotten items. we always enjoy the victorian architecture and the catholic church included in the photos had a charm all its own. we stopped for a visit and learned that lady di, jfk and jimmy dean, the sausage king, in fact donated quite a lot of money to refurbish the chimes which now play ship's bells and hymns on the quarter hour and 3/4 hour during the day. there's also a footbridge that enables pedestrians to cross into town where there's every kind of imaginable establishment to spend money. we were able to find some $3 t-shirts and a pair of shorts for john who packed a bit too lightly.
from boothbay we went to tenants harbor, a neat, well protected cove and enjoyed our first lobster rolls for lunch on the dock where lobster boats were unloading their catch. we walked the quiet roads before heading back to luna for a nap and dinner. we started noticing lightning, prepared (we thought) for a storm and soon were in the middle of the worst and longest electrical storm we'd ever experienced. it rained buckets (see photo) and went on for at least 2 hours. we got more rain during the night so by morning, we were sopping. the storms cleared the atmosphere and gave us a terrific 4 hour sail through muscle ridge channel, owls head bay around the point and on into rockland's harbor. because of more bad weather, we ended up staying there for 3 nights....and, we confess, last night at the navigator inn. it was soooo good to sleep on dry sheets, take a real shower and listen to the rain beating the streets outside all night.
while in rockland, we visited the town of vinalhaven by ferry where we hiked the trails of a neat state park that took us to rocky vistas, a sandy beach, and loads of wild ripe raspberries just asking to be picked after our picnic lunch. it poured buckets again that night and it was then that anne said "enough"! we packed a contractor's bag (our duffels are all mildewed), dinghied ashore and and made our way to the farmsworth art museum which i'd read about in the cruising guide. we were able to stuff our plastic bag into a locker but not before a few curious glances came our way. we spent the next 5 or so hours immersed in 3 generations of wyeth art. it was marvelous. we also enjoyed the wonderful "homer to hopper" exhibit, maine hooked and shirred rugs and toured the farmsworth 1850 homestead that's been perfectly preserved and has the original furniture and personal belongings of
three generations of the family. we then hiked to our inexpensive motel, ate our picnic lunch, napped and then had a late dinner out at a waterfront restaurant. it was hard to see anything though since it was foggy once again, but the torrential rain held off until we made it back to the inn for the night.
the weather was still unsettled this morning after our complimentary breakfast,we walked to the dinghy dock, bailed the dinghy, went out to luna where we unloaded our gear, mopped up again, went back to shore, hiked to the store to get a few grocery items, then back to luna. we got fuel, ice and water and left around 2:30, headed across penobscott bay to fox island thoroughfare to anchor in beautiful, quiet carver cove. there's a sprinkling of houses along the shoreline but we're the only boat here. they are promising us lots of wind tomorrow and clear skies for a few days. yes!
may this find you happy and well. keep the feedback coming, please. we love to hear from you.
anne and john
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From: John Martin
Date: Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 9:41 PM
Subject: we made it!
hello from frenchman's bay in bar harbor, our northern most destination!
sitting here pinching myself...we've actually done what we'd hoped to do and are just off the college of the atlantic's dock, the place some cruisers had told us about 3 years ago when we hatched this idea. i'd always hoped to go to popham beach but had never considered going this far...to this beautiful mt.desert island and acadia national park. so many memories of camping here years ago with my children, exploring tide pools and caves, hiking the mountain trails, learning how to eat lobsters and, and, and everthing!
in our last update, we'd mentioned the promise of wind and we got it...and lots of it! we had a gorgeous full moon sunday night, and woke to a low 60's crystal clear, sunny day. as we left carver cove, the same curious seal (i'm sure!) who'd welcomed us upon our arrival there popped his head up to bid us farewell. sorry but couldn't capture the moment. the building northwest wind was off our starboard quarter so with mizzen and full genoa, we sailed through fox island thoroughfare passing deere i,.swan i. and isle au haut to name just a few. saw our first loon and what we think were leach's petrels (again no photos...we were too busy sailing). it was perfect. we went on into lunt harbor on long island, a small off -the- beaten- path working harbor john had read about in the cruising guide. lobsterman have learned recently that sailors will pay for a mooring which gives them extra income but the harbor is so tiny, it's impossible to fit more than a few boats in at one time. we hiked the frenchboro preserve finding cranberry bogs, blueberries, all sorts of mushrooms, wild shorelines and sandpiper-like birds we tried to photograph without great success. we had a lobster dinner for $15 which we ate on the dock with some watermen and their families who entertained us with their tales.
tuesday dawned another bright, sunny, windy day. we had just 20 miles to sail to mt. desert island so took our time eating breakfast in the cockpit while watching all the harbor activities. we left with several other sailboats, all headed for different destinations, but hailing good wishes for safe journeys. the comraderie of crusising sailors never fails to warm my heart. we started out with just mizzen and reefed genoa but the decreasing wind coaxed out a reefed mainsail. winds then increased to over 20 knots (of course) and when our heading changed it was right on the nose. we opted to motor-sail the very last part of our passage, eager to find our way into frenchman's bay and our anchorage.
for one reason or another, we've had to move 4 times since our arrival here on tuesday but we're now settled on a mooring graciously offered to us by one of the college staff. we used their laundry facilities yesterday and enjoyed a delicious lunch in their cafeteria that overlooks the harbor. there's a neat museum of natural history and the island shuttle comes right to the campus every 30 minutes allowing us free transportation all over the park. how neat can it be?
this will be our last communication until we get back home. family is arriving soon and after they leave on 8/6, we'll be heading south, non-stop with the help of family and friends, arriving in baltimore we hope by 8/15-16, weather permitting.
we so appreciate all your support and feedback.
anne and john
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From: John Martin
Date: Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 9:15 PM
Subject: 35 miles to go
Hello!
just wanted to let you know we're only 35 miles from home, anchored in chesapeake city's tiny harbor with plans to depart early tomorrow morning to catch the tide back to middle river.
we'll go home, pack up some bags and head for colorado to celebrate grandson andrew's 6th birthday. we'll be back in baltimore on 8/26 at which time we'll do our final update on what has been a "once in a lifetime experience"....although the logic is circular one of john's favorite mantras is: doing things right comes from experience and experience comes from doing things wrong...that may give you a hint of our final update!
hope this message finds you happy and well.
anne and john
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From: John Martin
Date: Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 10:46 PM
Subject: Home in the Chesapeake Bay
Hello!
We apologize for our delayed final update but we've been
procrastinating. I'm lying here in Luna's cabin with a newly purchased fan on its most powerful setting blowing directly on me and it's doing a pretty good job. I'm also feeling a tad bit guilty that I'm not out in the cockpit helping John with one of the many projects necessary for us to even consider tackling the "seond leg" of our trip. Today it's removing the old hot water heater and then installing the new one. On Saturday morning with my son, Dave's, help we brought Luna over to Dave and Kim's current address on Middle River where Dave's dad had lived for many years. There's deep water here with, electricity fresh water, and acess to showers but best of all, lots of family time. They keep asking us to come inside to sleep in the air conditioned house but so far, it's been fine to be on Luna and get back into the swing of onboard living.
So today, I'll take us back up to Maine and our memorable times since we last gave you any details of our adventures.
July 31 - August 5
My younger daughter, Kristen, son-in-law, Nick, and granddaughters, Taylor and Ashley, joined us on board Luna on Saturday, July 31. Our quarters were quite cozy with Kris and Nick in the v-berth, Ashley in the pilot berth and Taylor on the starboard pull-out settee. John and I slept on the port settee which when pulled out gave us about 8 inches of space between our berth and Taylor's...."grandmother's heaven"! for the next 6 days, we explored Acadia National Park. We visited Thunder Hole more than once and finally heard its roar, hiked Cadillac Mtn., poked in tidal pools, hiked the shoreline, daysailed, poked around in Southwest Harbor where we were able to chat with some lobstermen who'd brought in their catch, were hosted by long time friends with whom we'd vacationed on Mt. Desert Island thirty some years ago and who just happened to be there at the same time. They had us all there for a scrumptious "cook out". Thank you, Laurie, Reed, Amy and Michael. We also treated ourselves to hard shell lobsters and other seafood delights. Kristen and Nick moved into a waterfront resort right in Bar Harbor after 3 nights on Luna which gave all of us use of the pool and laundry facilities but our darlings stayed with uson board for "overnights". On our last day, Kristen and Nick treated Taylor, Ashley and me to an afternoon excursion on "Starfish Enterprise", a truly unique tour boat which took us out into Frenchman's Bay to explore the rocky coast, the many uninhabited islands and underwater treasures. We had a national park naturalist who accompanied us and narrated while the boat's captain donned scuba gear and dove down withh his attached camera and microphone to collect numerous live specimens which he bagged. The on-board audience got to watch on a big screen. These animals were then brought up for us to touch and appreciate their unique characteristics. It was truly special!
We dined out that night on the very same dock the Bell family had enjoyed years ago and according to our waitress, at the very same table where the Obama family had been seated the previous weekend. Our crew, Bill Smith, joined us for dinner and our good-byes to the Goodell family.
August 6
Nick had asked us when we thought we'd be leaving the next morning and we assurred him "quite early" but I was still in my pajamas at 6:15 when I heard him hailing us from the College of the Atlantic's dock. What a sweetie he is! His appearance prompted us to get our acts into gear and make our departure but not until a few hours later.
We motored on out into the fog free windless morning by 7:45. By 9, our reefed main, full genoa and mizzen went up and our cell phone rang....it was Nick and family, excitedly asking if we'd just raised our sails. We looked to shore and saw them waving their "bon voyage". While still on the phone, I had to say a hurried good-bye for the air temperature had dropped at least 15 degrees and a fog bank was ahead!
Although the fog bank always stayed in front of us, the wind played with our spirits off and on but by 11, the sw wind filled in enough to give us a lovely sail, close hauled with tide against us some of the time. At 5:30 we'd made exactly 18 miles towards our destination. Even Anne had to concede this wouldn't do! We'd run out of food and water at this pace.
The night brought us varied conditions with some motor sailing or just motoring but always confused seas. Bill had suggested we do 2-hour solo shifts which should have given us each 4 hours of rest but for one reason or another, it didn't work out that way. For starters, Anne learned she really didn't like solo night sailing. Waves looked bigger, lights were confusing, sounds sometimes frightening. At one point, she realized Luna was pretty much on a collision course with what looked like another sailboat. Conditions prohibited using the auto helm, and the hand held radio was down below anyway so she woke John who came up and confirmed her suspicions and hailed the sailing vessel. They responded immediately. We gave them our course, assurred them we'd stay on it and they continued on, passing us within an extremely short distance considering how big that ocean was out there but that part felt good. Everything worked as it should have except I had to wake the poor captain to accomplish it.
By 9:45 am on 8/7, we'd made about 100 miles. Later that day , Anne spotted a shark quite close to the boat which was exciting but the seas continued to make life on board extremely uncomfortable and sleep impossible...not good for any of us. We learned at one point that the seas were caused by tropical storm Collin, a detail that was somehow overlooked when making the decision to leave Bar Harbor. Hmmmmm. I should mention that when things were particularly stressful, good natured Bill would start singing his wonderful ballads or salty sea chanties to cheer us.
By early evening, seas calmed a bit and on Anne's 7-9 pm shift, she spotted a high spray of water in the distance. Seconds later, a whale breeched, then another and another. We couldn't figure how many were in the pod but they had a joyous time for at least 30 minutes as the sun set. It was a wondrous way to end the day and helped to soothe Anne's frayed nerves for sure.
A few hours later, we'd reached Reyes Point near Provincetown on Cape Cod. It provided protection and the calmer seas were wholeheartedly welcomed. We slowed our engine powered speed and each of us slept soundly as we made our way towards Cape Cod Canal.
August 8 - 10
On 8/8, the main was still up upon our premature arrival at the canal's entrance so we turned to enjoy a lovely sail while waiting for the favored tide. We, however, made the mistake of leaving the main up when we entered the canal a bit later so that we had the swift ebbing tide with us but a brisk breeze (15-20 knot sw) on our nose...but not always right on our nose. John and Anne quickly got the main down but not before Bill had to do some tricky steering to keep Luna under control. An hour or so later, we entered Onset's channel, with some challenging helm work once again needed, causing anxiety (at least for Anne). We stayed in Onset's harbor most of the day, waiting to get to a very busy fuel dock (too long a story). Finally John rowed our empty gerry cans to the YC where he got them filled, rowed back against the strong wind, emptied them and then repeated the trip. John was exhausted as was I by then for we'd only had about 4 hours sleep since leaving Bar Harbor. We really should have stayed in Onset for the night but Bill's schedule prohited his staying on board for more than a day and we weren't feeling confident enough to make the trip to Block I. by ourselves. We left Onset at 6 PM and found ourselves back into the rolling, pitching, thumping seas. We were unable to sleep again that night. When Anne went on watch to relieve John, he told her he'd spotted what looked like a cruise ship in the distance but he was sure it wasn't moving. I didn't think much about it but kept watching the ship's lights. Probably due to exhaustion and high anxiety, she became convinced we were on a collision. She called for John who patiently came up to help, not once, not twice but three times. Finally, he agreed there was something strange going on so he tried hailing the ship but to no avail. Our friend, Gib, had warned us about ships ignoring calls but it's not until one experiences such things that one truly appreciates the frustration and real fear of the situation. And then the ship turned off the bright lights along its sides leaving only its running lights visible. The ship then turned leaving only its stern light for us to focus on. To this day, we don't know for sure what happened but obviously we never collided. Shortly after this event, the thick fog set in. I announced when Bill came on after me that I didn't want to be roused until we were attached to a Great Salt Pond mooring in Block I. but of couse, I didn't sleep a wink. I just listened to the waves smacking Luna's hull and Bill's calls for John's assistance in trying to understand what the radar was showing. I finally got up, figuring 3 sets of eyes were better than 2. As we neared Block I., the boat traffic increased but the fog was still thick as pea soup. The seas were about 4-5 feet but we had no wind so on we motored into nothingness, rolling and pitching as so many sailboats do under power. They're designed to sail! All three of us were looking in the wrong direction when out of the fog just a few feet away appeared another sailboat, under power but with the right of way over us. Its captain quickly turned and avoided a collision but looked rather furious as well as petrified as it passed. That was too close a call for me! In my exhausted state, I found myself questioning my captain, myself, our equipment...you name it... but we still had to find our marks and get into a safe harbor. Sweet Bill had predicted the fog would lift just in time and it did. On 8/9, we hooked a mooring in the most crowded harbor we'd ever encountered. Great Salt Pond in high season!
Anne fixed breakfast, we hailed a harbor shuttle, then a cab for the ferry dock where Bill left for his home in Salem. Thank you, dear Bill. We walked back to our anchorage, were ferried to Luna and crashed for the day...except Anne didn't rest for long. She was in a state of high anxiety and really didn't want to even think about having to get home to Baltimore but...
Our friends, John and Fran Flannigan were already on the island waiting at a B&B to hear from us. I checked the forecast several times and decided we should postpone our trip south for several days. I called the Flannigans and told them to have dinner without us that night but we'd meet in the morning for breakfast. John woke around 5 PM and I let him know how I was feeling. Of course he was disappointed and didn't agree with my interpretation of the upcoming weather. I had more than my usual 2 glasses of wine before falling into our berth that night and slept soundly but was still resolved to stay put the next morning.
The Flannigans came on board after breakfast...Anne wasn't ready to face them with her announcement but was ready to fly them back to Baltimore after a few days of fun on Block I. Welllllll....John and John got to talking in the cockpit while Fran and Anne discussed the situation below. Pretty soon, the guys joined us and confidently announced the conditions would be perfect for our sail home. And we believed them! We spent that day provisioning, getting laundry done (this time, we paid for one of the resorts to do it though) and getting the needed fuel and water tanks filled. We had a delicious dinner at an old inn overlooking Great Salt Pond and slept well that night.
August 11
I really was feeling better by the time we dropped the mooring and headed out into a calm, fogless, sea. Fish were jumping and John Flannigan, a super fisherman, immediately got the rod out with the lure and lead weigh the'd prepared the previous day. And by golly, he got a fish! It was a beautiful ???? (we later learned it was a bonito). Since we weren't sure if it was good eating and Anne couldn't imagine what we'd do with it anyhow, it went back into the ocean. And then he hooked 2 more fish, creating great excitement...and blood everywhere...and uncertainty about what we'd caught, so they were returned to the deep as well. OK, time to get serious and head for home. By 3:45, we were sailing with full genoa and mizzen, making over 5 knots on our 240 degree course with an east wind. This all sounds good but Anne was anxious about the east wind...doesn't that mean the waves will get bigger and bigger if it continues as the forecast indicates?
By 5 pm, we started motor sailing which helped the boat's motion but the building seas made things uncomfortable below. Fran fixed us a delicious dinner that night but became nauseous and couldn't go below for the rest of the night...not good. By 9 pm, the wind had freshened so we cut the engine and started sailing with full genoa and mizzen but within 6 hours, we had to restart engine to continue headway. It was hard for any of us to sleep with the rolling motion.
August 12
At 9:30 am, we resumed sailing with 84 miles to Cape May. The easterly winds kept building as did the seas. The cabin temperature was 80 plus degrees and with the constant rolling/pitching motion, it was impossible for any of us to get any real rest. As we approached Atlantic City, Anne suggested we go in but...Seas had built to 6-8 feet and were still confused.
When it got dark, we all stayed in the cockpit, just to give eachother moral support, if nothing else. By then, there were 3 of us to do the helms work. Fran was falling asleep sitting up, despite the rough seas. We took 30 minute tricks. The helm started to behave strangely, sometimes locking in place. The GPS then froze but our captain calmly turned it off and rebooted it. The most frightening and unnerving sensation was when we were on the helm, and go down in the waves' troughs, we'd lose sight of anything but high water walls. I'd wait breathlessly, wondering if we'd come back up but Luna behaved well each time. Wildwood's amusement rides seemed so close but yet so far. A green laser beam periodically swept across Luna from the shoreline adding to our confused and stressed state. As we neared our final mark for Cape May Inlet's entrance, the winds were a steady 25 knots and we still had our furled genoa and mizzen up. Rolling up the genoa would be simple but that mizzen had to come down before we turned. John went aft to surmise the situation, knowing full well, we couldn't head into those seas and winds and then announced he could not get the mizzen down...there was too much pressure. My heart sank but the next minute, he was asking for the sail ties. He braced himself and set to work pulling it down while Anne sat at his feet holding his leg and silently willing that mizzen to cooperate...and for John to stay on board. He was tethered but it would have been a truly dangerous situation if he'd gone over the rail. The helm eased a bit once the mizzen was secured but rogue waves would sometimes pitch one gunnel into the water and then the other. Lunita (our dinghy) had been snubbed tight to our transom and with the stern light on her, she looked alive and wanting in the worst way to join us in the cockpit. John padlocked her to a stantion base. Just as we turned into the inlet, I decided to have the UHF microphone in my hand, ready to call the Coast Guard, for we now had 8-9 foot breakers on our stern. When I reached for the microphone, I brushed against the main electrical panel switch and turned everything off! My dear, sweet captain never once yelled---just announced he had "no GPS". Within seconds, I got the power back on and held my breath waiting to hear from John that the GPS was again "communicating". Minutes later, we heard a huge crash. I was afraid to look back but shouted, "Is everyone OK?" "Yes," from all. The captain announced we were fighting an ebbing tide and making only 1-2 knots over the ground. At least we weren't going backwards! John F. warned that we were drifting towards the rocky breakwater. Captain John increased the engine's speed but both John F. and I were worried the strain would be too much for the 32 year old diesel and the captain slowed our speed. Slowly, ever so slowly, we made our way into the "all weather" inlet to safety. Our anchor went down by 3 am off the Coast Guard's base in Cape May. It was then that we realized poor Lunita was upside down...but still in one piece. We had a group hug, then crashed until 10 later that morning. I asked John if we could please, just this once, try and find dock space and he agreed. South Jersey Marina had space. The wind was still blowing hard and by then the tide was flooding so there were several dock hands ready to help us maneuver into our slip.
Anne's arthritic knees were not working well at all and both her feet were swollen. She was not willing to move on. The Flannigans had planned on going all the way to Baltimore but it just wasn't meant to be. Everyone at the marina was talking about the still increasing east winds and heavy seas and large yachts were staying in port. To tackle the Delaware Bay was beyond my realm. I wanted to stay put and rest. Luckily, the Flannigans had someone who happened to be visiting Rehobeth so they ferried on over the next morning.
After lots of rest and calmer seas, John and I had an uneventful trip home to Baltimore, taking our time and stopping in Chesapeake City along the way.
Anne wasn't sure she ever wanted to see Luna again when they left Riley's but she's better now.
Lessons learned:
Listen to those who have made such a trip....get rid of the calendar and have no time constraints. If you have crew, make sure they have no time constraints either!
Anne will never do round the clock sailing again....those days are over! We do hope to make the trip south but will do lots of homework before leaving Middle River.
Anne should have mastered operating both the GPS and radar which would have given the captain real rest time when he was off the helm. Shame on me!
I don't think anyone fully realized the mental/emotional state I was in after a few days of round the clock sailing with no sleep but when we got to Colorado, I had nightmares for the first week or so which helped me to understand I was "in over my head".
Again, we thank you for all your support. We look forward to seeing and catching up with your lives.
Anne & John
(Link to Photos)
Next Installment:
Interlude - Swan Creek
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