AT SEA

He Said:  

Hello all of you blog readers.  Here we are in beautiful Boston, Mass.  Pat and I left Cos Cob, Conn. on Tuesday of this week.  Over-all the trip went really great without any major hitches.  We met up with our Capt. Doug at about noon and departed about 2PM after making certain all the boat stuff was in good operating condition.  We only traveled about 3.5 hours due to not so good weather conditions.  We are traveling about 18 MPH, so 55 - 60 miles.  We spent the night in Branford, CT at a very peaceful and non-action packed marina and town.  The weather was shitty and a little foggy, but we could not find a restaurant within walking distance so we had a great dinner of chicken, pasta and a salad.   

Wed. morning we fueled up at $4.50 for diesel (thank god for our 10% discount!!)  Had a great day traveling about 80 miles thru the Long Island Sound and then into the wonderful Atlantic Ocean (a little chop for us wimps).  Overall it was a clear and beautiful day, maybe 70 degrees and sunny.  Pulled in after about 6 hours and spent the nite in Newport RI.  This place is as cool as shit, complete opposite of the nite before.  The 3 of us hit happy hour on the aft deck then out to a really cool restaurant on the water (like most of the restaurants are in Newport.)  

The 3^rd and final day of the sea was Thursday.  We also traveled about 6 hours/approx. 90 miles.  We got into Boston on that nite at about 6PM.  It was a beautiful day on the ocean.  Pat and I got a chance to sit on the bow due to the water being almost perfect and about 80 degrees.   

We spend most of Friday and Saturday cleaning and picking up the boat after 3 days of being on the water.  Our little marina here at Hingham Shipyard Marina has been great so far.  We’re still finding ourselves around the little village but lots within walking distance. Mass. has the world’s worst law - no Happy Hours.  It’s against state law due to it encourages drinking.  We don’t need no stinking happy hour for that, we’re always ready.  

 

 

The picture of the 3 people is us of course with our Capt. Doug.  This dude knows more about boats than god, born in 1950 just like yours truly, been boating in this area only since his 2^nd BD.  Hey Markless - is this your twin brother?  He’s funny and looks like you.  I realize nobody is as handsome as you, but mighty close. The great thing about having the Doug with us is that we both got to drive the boat (autopilot) piece of cake.  The other great thing about the Capt. was that we would still be out in the Atlantic driving around trying to figure out these damn charts. 

 I must also tell you I almost took out a lobsta pot, but thank god I was luckier than good and it went directly between the props.  It could have been an XL disaster.   All in all a terrific 8 days.  We will keep you all posted. 

Take Care,

Asst. Capt. Jack 

She Said:  What an amazing three days at sea.  It wasn’t anything like I expected, but it was still amazing.  Our captain, Doug Kent, joined us Tuesday around lunch time.  After familiarizing himself with the boat (and us), we secured a few things and we headed out to sea in the rain and haze.  Not quite ideal conditions, but off we went.  The seas were calms, but I found the visibility awful.  Between the haze and rain (there are no windshield wipers on the boat) I had a hard time seeing things in the distance.  I was surprised at how far off shore we were traveling.  I thought we’d follow the shore line.  We actually had to set a course and navigate the boat.  Early on Jack took over the helm and followed the course the captain set.  The captain kept reminding him of the setting he was to follow – it seemed like Jack kept getting off course.  At one point the captain told me to look at the wake behind us – it was a long snake-like trail  The he showed us our path on the GPS – a course of little “S”s.  That was how often Jack kept getting off course and correcting back onto course.  We all had a good laugh over that.  We pulled in to Branford, CT early that evening and cooked dinner aboard the boat.  It actually turned out quite good. 

The weather the next morning was better – light rain and still hazy.  We set sail – destination Newport, RI.  The weather cleared up and Jack again took the helm.  His yachtsmanship improved 100 fold – his wake was straight as an arrow.  And talking about the wake – it’s huge.  It looks like we’re on a cruise ship.  Things were going well and then we left the Long Island Sound -  we were in the ocean.  What a difference in the degree of chop.  Although I didn’t get seasick, I generally didn’t like it.  We set the autopilot for most of the day, but we still had to watch for lobster pots.  They are absolutely everywhere.  One snuck up on us and Jack had to maneuver us around it – or in his case, over the top of it between the two propellers.  I’m afraid we may have used up all of our luck too early in the trip.  We pulled in to Newport around 6pm.  What a great little town – we’ll definitely spend more time here on our way south.  A bit pricey, but very cute. 

We were up early Thursday morning hoping to get an early start on the day.  WRONG – we had our first mechanical issue.  Fortunately it wasn’t serious and Captain Doug was able to deal with it.  It did delay us by 2.5 hours.  When we did finally leave it was Captain JACK who took us out of the slip, into the fuel pump and out of the harbor.  Quite impressive!  This was a fantastic day at sea – clear, calm and warm.  We all took turns driving – including me.  Even though it was on autopilot, I still had to dodge lobster pots and navigate my way around oncoming boats.  Whoever wasn’t driving would sit up on the bow – this is living!  We traveled the Cape Cod Canal which gave us a taste of what the IntraCoastal will be like.  I really enjoyed that speed.  Jack brought us into Hingham Bay and our marina.  Captain Doug brought us into our slip bow first which set up our aft deck for gentle ocean breezes and happy hour sunsets.  Life is Good.

 

Add to the “To Do” list:  Take navigating course and knot tying.    

Our 1st sunset from Meant To Be
 

As the sun sets in the west . . . . .