NEW YORK - HUNTINGTON, PORT WASHINGTON & THE BIG APPLE

He Said:  Greetings.  Hello New York.  We left Connecticut on Saturday morning to begin our journey to New York.  We arrived pretty much on target to Huntington, New York.  The ocean was just fine other than the fact that my port engine stopped running.  Simply put - it just shut down.  We motored about 5 miles with 1 engine and made it into the marina.  We then reached out for some much needed help, but remember it is a Saturday at about 1 in the afternoon.  You got that right - no help until Monday - so our 1 nite in Huntington turned into 3.  The good news is our engine issue was a fuel filter that we did not know existed.  We check the other ones on a regular schedule, and even our mechanic dude was surprised by this hidden filter.  Oh well, we got everything up and running including the little lever on the dingy engine.  So all is good after a few hours from the mechanic.  For a short while we had 1 out of 3 motors working.  I guess if our starboard engine would have taken a shit we would have been 3 for 3.  Sometimes you really have to reach way out there to find some sort of humor in these situations or Pat and I would have killed each other by now.

 

We did have a fun weekend and found a super high end joint on the water that we could row to.  I parked Mr. Dingy between a couple 45 footers just to make a statement.  We had just 1 drink and left the place to go across the street to a little Irish joint called The Shamrock.  As we left the $$$ joint we cruised thru the parking lot as we exited and looked around at the rides that were, of course, valeted.  Young and rich kids from Long Island cruising in maybe Dad’s ride (Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes and some less expensive Corvettes).  We also walked into town and found a cute little pizza joint on Sunday and enjoyed the downtown area.  Oh yea, plus we walked maybe 1.5 miles to do our laundry.  How’s that for fun?

 

Houses along the Huntington Shore, Long Island
 

 

We left on Tuesday morning and headed to Port Washington where the city runs the mooring balls.  We like this because they are free with a 48 hour only stay.  We stayed 5 nites - the city was really on top of their rules.  Thank god they were clueless as to how long you were there.  Not only was the price right, but it was a really cool and not crowded area.

 

As some of you know we got rolling early Wednesday morning into our little town and walked to the train station, heading to Manhattan, holy cow. We arrived about 8AM, just in time for the Today Show, the proof is in the pudding.  If any of you saw us on the tube, just contact my agent if you need to talk to us.  Overnite stars - or as close as we will ever be. We spent the rest of the day looking at the sites including Ground Zero - simply amazing.  We returned to MTB in the early eve and had a pretty quiet nite after a long day in the city.

 

World Trade Center - 1776 ft.  The tallest building in NYC.

 

Most of the weekend we stayed pretty close to the boat, did some shopping, found a cute little bar for dinner on Friday plus they had a happy hour.  Yes, there is a god.  Our plans are to head out early Sunday morning and do East River (thru Manhattan), Hell’s Gate (just the name has me sweating), and the Jersey Coast (always looking for the Boss).

 

That is about it for now, hope everybody is doing well.  Our next blog will be from either Jersey or Annapolis.  We’ll probably post our next blog this coming weekend.

 

Take Care, Jack

 

 

 

She Said:  It was a beautiful day and we headed toward Huntington, NY on the north shore of Long Island.  Cruising the Long Island Sound is really nice – the currents are non-existent and the water is very smooth.  Things were going great.  We were about 5 miles outside of Huntington when the port engine just stopped.  All of the gauges were in the normal ranges and there was nothing in the water that we could have run over.  After fiddling with everything we could think of to fiddle with, we limped in to Huntington on one engine.  We were told that with diesels, if there’s a problem it’s most likely the fuel.  We were keeping our fingers crossed that it was nothing more serious. 

 

Light House in the Long Island Sound approaching Huntington, Long Island
 

 

I guess it’s pretty tough driving with only one engine, but Jack did a great job.  We fueled up (just to be on the safe side), grabbed a mooring ball while we called around for a mechanic (not very successful on a Saturday), and moved to another marina/mooring ball where we could get help on Monday morning.  Again, Jack did it all on one engine (we have improved a lot since our early days).

 

While sitting on board, we heard a live band – the first one since leaving Phoenix.  We got in the dinghy and Jack rowed us to Prime – the hottest spot in Huntington.  It was a Saturday night and the place was hopping, but the dock was relatively open.  We parked the dinghy and the dockmaster/valet says it will be $75, but we can apply the $75 toward our dinner tab.  Since we were only going in for a drink and the dock wasn’t busy, he let us in without the $75 charge (he did, however, move our dinghy to a more obscure part of the dock).  We had a drink and walked to the Shamrock for dinner. 

 

On Sunday we walked around getting the lay of the land.  It was overcast, so we just had a leisurely day on board.  First thing Monday morning we called the marina to find out when we could expect the mechanic.  Within minutes, one of the owners was at our boat getting ready to tow us in (with one engine they didn’t want to drive the boat).  A few minutes later the mechanic showed up.  He and Jack hit it off.  Just as we expected, it was a fuel issue.  We have a third fuel filter (which our mechanic had never seen before) and it was the culprit.  The other two (which we changed in Boston and check regularly) were fine.  The mechanic thought that our engines are in really good shape.  He also took a look at our dinghy motor and fixed it.  We were thrilled!

 

We did laundry in the afternoon and when we came back to MTB she was moved into a slip.  We hadn’t been in a slip or connected to power in about 6 weeks so we decided to stay there for the night.  We took the bus into the town of Huntington for dinner.  It’s a great little town with lots of restaurants, bars, and shops.  But it was a Monday night and things were a little quiet, so we made an early evening of it.  Back on MTB we took advantage of instant electricity – bright lights, TV and the microwave/oven.  It’s amazing how the simple things are now big deal things for us.  This was also the first time in a long time that we had neighbors – and noise.

Our one planned one night in Huntington turned into three, and it was now time to leave for Port Washington, NY.  The trip was easy and uneventful.  We found the city mooring balls, hooked up, and went for a motorized dinghy ride.  Ah – the simple pleasure of a working dinghy motor!  And we really needed the motor here because there are lots of places to ride to and the various dinghy docks weren’t close.  We planned to take the Long Island Railroad into Manhattan the next morning, so we got that figured out first.  This is another nice town with a lot to offer.  It was early to bed because we had an early start the next morning.

 

 We left MTB at 5:45am and caught the train for the 45 minute ride to Penn Station.  Jack’s a big Today Show fan so we thought we’d start the day there.  We were standing around trying to get a good view of the filming when a producer came by and said that if we wanted to be on TV we should move around the corner.  The words were no sooner out of her mouth and Jack took off running.  I’m not kidding – he was gone in flash leaving me in his wake.  I didn’t know he could move that fast.  Long story short – we made our TV debut that morning.  No speaking part for either of us, but there we were.  We texted friends and family to watch the show – we are so shallow.  It was Fan Appreciation Week and we were treated to food samples.  We ate the ravioli and pesto for dinner tonight.

 

After all of the excitement of TV we stopped at Magnolia Bakery for the famous banana pudding.  It was really, really good!  Then we caught one of the many Hop On Hop Off tour buses for a tour of the city.  It was a gorgeous day and we sat on the upper deck for great views.  With so many NY lunch options it was hard to choose – we went with the NYC deli pastrami route and we weren’t disappointed.  Jack had never been to NYC before so everything was new for him.  The 9/11 Memorial was new since my last visit, so we checked it out.  The waterfalls outline the footprints of the two towers that were hit.  They were quite impressive – the pictures don’t do them justice.       

 

One of the 2 waterfalls at the 9/11 Memorial
 

 

Rain was forecasted for the next day so we decided to extend our stay in Port Washington.  The weathermen got it right – it poured, it was windy and foggy.  A good day to lay low, get some cleaning done onboard, and plan our long trip down the Jersey shore.  We don’t cruise too fast, so we’ll need 3 days to get from Long Island down the Jersey trip.  That means we’re looking for three good weather days in a row.  Our best chance for that will be Sunday through Tuesday.  That meant another couple of days here.  It’s a cute town and very accessible so we were more than happy to stay.  We found a great bar – Finn MacCool’s.  They had a great happy hour, friendly bartenders, and yummy food! 

 

The Barclay’s Golf Tournament is a short train ride away, and we tried to get tickets.  It didn’t work out, but we did get the itch to golf.  The plan for Saturday was to go to the local Farmer’s Market, find somewhere to hit some golf balls, and catch happy hour at MacCool’s.  BUT . . . when we turned the generator on to make coffee in the morning it wouldn’t start.  We need the generator to run the stove and other non-essential electrical stuff, but mostly we need the generator to keep our batteries charged.  Not only do the batteries provide power to the fridge, lights, and toilet, but it also provides power to start the engines – so it’s kind of a big deal.  As you know, we are not the most mechanical people, so this did present a dilemma.  Our best guess was that it was the generator’s battery.  We pulled it out, brought it to be tested, and that was the case.  We bought a new battery and we were able to replace it by ourselves. 

 

One the shacks on the shores of the Manhasset Bay, Port Washington, Long Island
 

 

It’s Sunday morning and we’re off early for a 60 mile cruise through the New York Harbor and a little of the New Jersey Shore.  The bay and the Long Island Sound were smooth as glass and it was a nice easy start.  Once inside the Harbor/East River, it was another story.  We have feared “Hell’s Gate” since we first heard the name, and today we experienced it.  MTB has enough power so we made it through the area without a problem, but let me tell you its name is appropriate.  Not only are the currents strong, but they swirl.  We didn’t hit it at the best time or the worse time, and it still slowed us down considerably.  Even after we were through Hell’s Gate, the Harbor/East River was still not pleasant.  There are numerous channels that lead into the Atlantic and it was really busy with both commercial and pleasure vessels. 

 

The Empire State Building far left and the Chrysler Building on the right.  View from the East River.

 

Statue of Liberty from MTB
 

 

The Financial District at the tip of Manhattan as we are leaving NYC.  Hudson River on the left - East River on the right.

 

 

We enjoyed our time in New York and now look forward to a short visit in New Jersey.      

CONNECTICUTT - MYSTIC & OLD SAYBROOK/ESSEX

He Said:  Hello to you all.  First things first.  We got fogged in at Mystic and could not get out of Dodge - so no Jimmy Buffet,.  I called JB (great initials) and told him we would not make it to NYC on Thursday morning.

 

We safely made it on Sunday to Noank - a little city with just a few little stores and that is about it - and stayed for 3 nites total.  This is like a lot of the NE little towns and as cute as can be.  The town of Mystic was about 2 miles away.  The hilly roads made it very scenic.  At the Noank grocery store you could rent a bike for 10 bucks for 24 hours.  A great deal so of course we were all over that. We peddled our asses off to arrive in Mystic - like I said not so far but way too many hills.  We had a fun time there and caught the end of a nice art show then off for a little bite to eat.  Not complaining, but we have had lots of seafood so for the first time in 3 months we had Mexican - kinda like being back home.  We went to some joint with Margarita in the name, go figure, and had some good Mexican and a couple of cold ones.

 



Picturesque Noank

 

Crazy as it sounds, we got together with our Captain Doug for dinner in Mystic at a cool little lobster joint right on the water and within walking distance of our marina.  It was BYOB which to us is great news, no bar bill!!  Doug was heading from Annapolis back to Boston to deliver a boat, just like he did with us.  It was fun catching up with him.  He really is the only person we know very well in all of NE so it is kind of a small little world.

 

Lobster Rolls with Captain Doug
 

 

 

We left Mystic on Wednesday AM and headed to Old Saybrook/Essex and had no problem getting there.  We are not trying to get full of our stuff, but we are doing a pretty good job of navigating - especially after only about 3 months.  Like the rest of our little towns this place is also cute as hell.  What we really like is you can stay at North Cove Yacht Club for 000$$.  They offered nothing, but charged you the same for a 72 hour visit - pretty sweet. We took the bus over to Essex on Friday to check out the town.  It was very cool, but we did not spend a lot of time there and headed back in the afternoon to Old Saybrook.

 

Our plans are to leave the fine state of Connecticut on Saturday morning and head to the Big Asshole (I mean Apple). We hope to spend a few days or so in NY before heading to NJ. We understand that the trip thru the New York Harbor (Hell’s Gate) can be a little squirrely due to the strong currents, so we will travel with the current pushing us not us going against it.  It’s also more efficient in the fuel world.  While in NY we hope to do some fun stuff including catching the Today Show on Monday morning.  Hated missing Jimmy, but not even the man is worth traveling in fog especially when you have never done it before.

 

That is about it for now.  Did not bore you with the weather but it has been pretty nice, mostly 70s during the day and 50-60 at night - hard to bitch about that after all we have been through.  Catch up with you guys in about a week from probably Jersey.  Maybe run into the Boss, just like we didn’t with JB, oh well!! Take Care, Jack

She Said:  We finally got a nice day so it was time to head for Mystic, RI.  It was about a 25 mile journey and we put almost 4 hours on the engines.  Departing and arriving are slow processes with mooring fields, channels and no wake zones.  When we’re cruising we’re around 10MPH. 

 

We found a marina that offered mooring balls in the town of Noank which is at the mouth of the Mystic River and about 2 miles from Mystic.  The staff at Noank Village Boatyard was great.  My top priority was laundry – there was only one washer and one dryer, so it took longer than we hoped.  While the laundry was doing its thing, we worked on getting the dinghy motor fixed.  After a couple of hours, we identified the specific broken part, found out it’s not a stocked part, and the mechanics are booked out about a week.  Maybe better luck in our next stop.  In the meantime, Jack was going to be doing a lot of rowing getting us from the mooring field to the dinghy dock. 

 

 We found bicycles to rent and rode them the short distance into Mystic.  Mystic is a cute town and we enjoyed strolling the streets.  We hadn’t had Mexican food since leaving Phoenix and thought we’d give Tio Juan’s Margarita a try.  It hit the spot!  We then pedaled back to the boat, but not before I decided to hit the curb and go down for the count.  I blew out my flip-flop and got myself some good road burn – mostly on my knee – and bruising, but I’ll survive.

 

On Monday we toured the Mystic Seaport Village.  It’s an outdoor museum set up as Mystic was in the 1800s.  It was interesting to see how things were done back then (including an old printing press).  There were several old sailing vessels that we toured.  We had a fun day (and no mishaps riding the bikes home).   

 

Original Buildings from 1800s in Mystic Seaport

Historic Sailing Vessel in Mystic Seaport
 

Although Jack has shown no interest in fishing, he is intrigued by the fishermen and their catch.  Whenever he sees fishermen on the docks, he stops by and asks them all kinds of questions about what they’re catching, what they do with it, etc.  Believe it or not, almost all of the fishermen – mostly commercial - have been very friendly and have given us all kinds of information.  In Noank, Jack was talking to a recreational fisherman who just came back from fishing Block Island where he caught 200 pounds of “striper.”  He was trying to get rid of it (he couldn’t legally sell it), so he gave us a huge filet (enough for 4 dinners).  We were so excited to fix it for dinner that night, but we had other plans.  Earlier in the day we got a call from Captain Doug.  He was moving a boat from Annapolis to Boston and was meeting us in Mystic for dinner that night.  We went to Abbott’s Lobster House where we had the most incredible lobster roll.  We also tried the Rhode Island-style clam chowder.  It’s similar to Manhattan clam chowder, but it has a clear broth.  Neither one of us cared for it.   We had a fun evening with Doug!

 

Tuesday morning we were up early for our trip toward NYC.  Our plan was to take 2 days to get near NYC and travel by train into Manhattan to see Jimmy Buffet on the Today Show on Thursday.  We woke up to thick fog, but the weather report said it was supposed to clear up.  And it did, so we decided to head out.  We stopped at the fuel dock and had to wait for another boat to finish fueling up.  Wouldn’t you know it – the other boat was Captain Doug.  We talked about heading out in the fog (projected 1-3 mile visibility) and Doug said we’d be fine.  I swear, the fog got thicker as we were fueling.  As we pulled out into the channel, I could see the buoys on the GPS screen, but not in front of me.  Jack and I looked at each other, and without saying much, decided Jimmy was going to have to play to a Today Show crowd without us.  It was back to our mooring ball.  We stayed on board all day.  For dinner we grilled some of the striper, and it was excellent.

 

We could now take longer getting to NYC, so we re-routed ourselves.  Our next stop – Old Saybrook/Essex, CT.  We found a cove that provided free mooring balls for 3 nights, so we thought we’d give it a try.  Old Saybrook turned out to be a great place – much larger than we’d expected, but still quaint.  Our first order of business – get the dinghy fixed.  When you’re on a mooring ball or anchored, your dinghy is your connection to land.  Even though there were more marinas and parts stores than in Mystic, the end result was the same – no available parts and no one able to look at it until next week.  So now we got smart.  We figured out where we would be in about a week, found a marina/mechanic, and made an appointment.

 

Jack rowed us to the dinghy dock and we walked into town.  Everything we needed was within an easy walk.  Walking to the grocery store we found a Wal-Mart.  I can count on one had the number of times I’ve been in a Wal-Mart, but when you’re on the road like we are, Wal-Mart is like Disneyland.  We did some major stocking up including a lantern.  A lantern will help us find MTB in the mooring field at night and also give us better reading light onboard.  We also found a Verizon store.  They were able to look at our JetPak set-up and made a modification on my computer.  Hopefully, this will help my data usage problem. On our way back to the boat we stopped at Walt’s (a tiny grocery store) to pick up some fresh scallops (caught today) and local tomatoes for dinner.  OBSERVATION:  With a minor exception in Newport, we haven’t seen a chain store, restaurant or fast food place since we left Boston until now.

 

On our second day in Old Saybrook we finally made it to the grocery store and got other general tasks accomplished.  We stopped into Penny Lane Pub for dinner and ended the night at Jack Rabbit Tavern for a night cap.  All and all a lazy, relaxing day.  On our final day we took the bus into Essex.  It’s described as the quintessential New England town and it lived up its reputation – worth the bus ride.  Back on MTB we were relaxing on the bow when we heard a bang – maybe more of a clunk.  The boat on the mooring ball next to us swung around and bumped us on the port stern.  Since there was no speed involved there was no damage, but it did startle us.  We called the marina and they didn’t seem to care.  We tied up our dingy on the side of the boat where we bumped to protect us just in case it happened again.  Fortunately, it didn’t.  If all goes according to plan, we’ll leave CT tomorrow for a 60 miles trip to Long Island.  We have really enjoyed CT.  The people and sights have been great. 

Famous Griswold Inn, Essex
 

RHODE ISLAND - NEWPORT & BLOCK ISLAND

He Said:  Hello from Never-A-Dull-Minute, Rhode Island:  We arrived to Newport, Rhode Island before lunch time on Monday morning as planned. We knew from our earlier trip that Newport is a really cool town and also full of their prices. That afternoon we decided to take the “cliff walk,” it is a really cool 3 mile walk along the cliffs of the ocean with somewhere near 10 mansions to view.  The places were built way, way back and were stunning to look at.  We finished most of the walk but decided not to do the full tour - it would have taken the whole day and we only had 1 in Newport.  We headed back to the boat after a run to the grocery store and of course the liquor store, always 100 bucks or so. We went back into town that nite and found a cool little restaurant for some terrific shrimp and of course a cocktail or two.

 

View along the Cliff Walk

The next morning we headed to Block Island, Rhode Island.  This town also is very cool but the “Old Town” where most of the stuff is at is about a 1.4 mile walk.  This is no big deal unless you got your hands full of stuff as you head back to the boat so we were careful to travel back lightly.  We grabbed a bite at a little outside local place and took the dark walk back to the boat.  At this point(Tuesday) we were anchoring.  This is the easiest way to settle in and the least expensive.  It can also be challenging if the winds create an issue or your anchor decides to drag - this is all bad shit.  You only know what comes next.  You got it, our anchor (after about 24 hours of setting) decided to no longer set. We were at Dingy Beach enjoying the 80 degree weather and the waves when Meant to Be decided to relocate. The good news is that she re-set and nothing bad happened.  The bad news is Mr. HarborMaster was there to not so nicely greet us as we returned.  I thought he was a little tuff on us, but we do understand we could have created bedlam if MTB got loose. Anyhow, after our windlass gave us a pain in the ass and our starboard engine was less than cooperative we got out without anything bad happening.  Oh yea, we also got 69’ed from the anchorage field.  I am certain some of you professional drinkers have been 69’ed a few times -  same result -  like get the hell out. He directed us to the mooring field where we were challenged because I was running on just a single motor.  I never tried it before and hope to never again.  We did get on the ball the 2^nd time but steering this beast with just 1 engine and trying to get to an exact spot is not so much fun, but we made it.

 

The lighthouse marking the entrance to Block Island
 



The Oar's front lawn. 

We found the coolest little bar her at the marina called the Oar Bar.  We seem to land there everynite at least for a drink or 2.  They have a local PBR tasting beer for $2.75, gotta love life! We dropped in on Friday nite at about 7 and we watching some girl get on our dingy and pour my beer that I left on the boat directly into the Atlantic.  Holy Shit, anything but my beer.  Anyhow, she noticed our dingy motor was spitting out fuel and tried to catch some of the gas so it did not go directly into the ocean - not too successful.  I think she accidentally broke my on/off fuel lever.  So guess what.  I am now paddling my ass off anywhere we need to go.  I guess this is good for the cardio but overall I would rather just give it a little more gas and go.  Tried to get it fixed today but the local outboard dude has no parts for it so it will get fixed hopefully in Mystic, Conn.   

 

So Saturday eve Pat and I decided to row my butt off again and head to our favorite little Oar Bar.  Our plans were to eat in but have a drink and some clam chowder at The Oar.  At about the time we were getting our bill Pat’s phone rang and it was our friends Dave and Patty. I told them we had food already out for dinner, and they basically said tuff shit.  So Dave picked us up at the dingy dock, towed the boat back to MTB, and kidnapped us to his beautiful boat for a lovely dinner.  They had their friends Ed and Lee also for dinner.  What a fun nite of good people and good food.

 

Hopefully we will be on our way to Mystic on Sunday unless the weatherman changes our mind for us.  We are planning on both Sunday and Monday in Mystic then off to New York.  One last thing . . . . . some of you will never guess who is going to be on the Today Show this coming Thursday.  How about James David Buffett (his friends just call him Jimmy).  Hopefully, if all goes well we will be in NY on Wednesday and figure out a way to see Mr. Margaritaville on Thursday.  If you think about it tivo it and you just might see us along with the thousands of other ParrotHeads that will be there. That is about it for now, Take Care, Jack

 

 

She Said:  We have finally left Massachusetts and arrived in Newport, RI.  When we departed Cuttyhunk, the water was a bit rough, but not too bad.  After about 15 minutes it calmed down and it was a pleasant cruise into Newport.  We stopped at Newport on our trip from Cos Cob to Boston with Captain Doug when we moved the boat, so we were somewhat familiar with the lay of the land.  Upon arrival in the harbor, we took the long way around the various marinas to our mooring ball.  We heard one boat captain radio in that he had gone aground.  Things like that always make us a bit nervous.  As we approached the boat launch that was to direct us to our ball, a motor boat pulled out of nowhere right in front of us.  Jack had the right away, but he still had to do some maneuvering to keep us out of harm’s way. 

 

We decided to take the famed Cliff Walk.  This is a walk along the rugged coast line with the mansions one side and the ocean on the other.  It’s a beautiful 3 mile walk.  We passed the church where Jackie and JFK were married, a beautiful beach, and several of the old mansions that can be toured.  Many of the old mansions were donated to the Preservation Society or converted into schools.  Newport is really a very pretty city.

 

The Breakers - Newport, RI
 

We needed to do some grocery shopping.  In Phoenix, we would go to the grocery store about once a day.  Now we’re going about once a week.  We try to have at least enough fresh food for 5 lunches and dinners aboard - we never know when we could be stranded somewhere.  The biggest challenge is getting everything back to the boat.  In this case, it was a good ½ mile walk, then we have to load everything into the dinghy, then onto the swim platform of the big boat, then up the stairs into the cockpit, then down the stairs into the main galley.  It’s really quite a challenge.

 

This was our first “town” in several nights, so we ventured out that evening.  Midtown, a new waterfront restaurant, was recommended and it was great.  We had a great spicy shrimp meal.  After walking around town a bit more, we headed back.  We debated staying another night, but the weather the next day was going to be good, so we wanted to take advantage of the good cruising day.

 

Bridge connecting Jamestown and Newport
 

We set sail for Block Island, RI.  It was a picture perfect day – what a great day on the water.  New Harbor in Block Island is really large and well protected.  We were told to anchor instead of using a mooring ball, but we also read that anchoring could be tricky because of the soft ocean bottom.  So we headed out to the anchoring field which is larger than most the mooring fields.  We thought that if all of these boats were anchoring it’s probably the thing to do.  The hard thing for us was determining where to drop the anchor – you have to take into account the length of the anchor line as well as leave room around the boat for it to swing.  As we so often do, we shouted out to a group of 3 powerboats asking if we were in a good place to anchor.  They pointed out a spot that they thought was better and off we went.  A couple of the guys from those boats came over and checked out our anchor and said it looked good. 

Scenic Point Judith enroute to Block Island
 

 

We took the dinghy out to get a lay of the land.  This is by far the largest mooring/anchorage area we’ve been in, and we were quite a distance from the dingy dock.  So when we went out to dinner that night, we took a compass setting to be sure we could find our way home.  We walked in to the Old Harbor – about 1.5 miles each way – and had a great dinner of shrimp and scallops.  Scallops are caught locally and they were incredible.  We got back to the dinghy around 10pm.  With our flashlight in hand we headed back to Meant To Be.  Well wouldn’t you know it, our big flashlight died on us and we were left with the little flashlight I carried in my purse.  Long story short – we couldn’t find the boat.  We saw a group of 5 boats with lights on and headed over there to see if we could borrow a flashlight.  These boaters have been coming here for years and said they’ve been lost many times.  One guy asked us a few questions and narrowed down where he thought we needed to be.  He gave us his flashlight and directions and said if we didn’t find the boat in 10 minutes to come back.   Following his directions we were back home in a couple of minutes. 

 

We got up bright and early the next morning and returned the flashlight.  Then we got in line for donuts – a little place that’s been around for 50 years.  Back on the boat we made a temporary repair to our broken windshield until we can get it replaced in Annapolis.  Then it was off to the beach.  On our way back from the beach we stopped and visited with the guys that helped us anchor.  When we finally got back to the boat it looked liked she’d moved - we were swinging over the anchor line of a neighboring boat.  The anchor apparently let loose and reset itself, but we were in a bad spot.  We went to get help and were checking out the anchor line when the Harbormaster came speeding over with his lights flashing.  He started yelling at us to get the anchor up, the engines started and move the boat.  I’m pulling the anchor up and windlass starts acting up.  Jack’s starting the engines and the starboard one won’t start. 

The harbormaster jumps onboard and helps me pull up the anchor and tells Jack he’ll have to drive with one engine.  He leads us to a mooring ball, and Jack can’t get me to it because the wind’s blowing and he’s only got one engine.  We make a second attempt and I just barely got the ball.  The Harbormaster apologized for “being so direct” with us, but then complimented us on staying calm and not yelling.  He said people usually start yelling in these situations and that only makes it worse.  The good news is we have a place for the night, the bad news is we have to vacate the ball the next morning.

 

The next morning the weather is getting kind of funky out and most boats are staying put.  That meant finding a vacant mooring ball would be a bit more difficult.  We got in the dinghy and started cruising the mooring field looking for a boat that was leaving.  We found a couple that were getting ready to leave and they said they’d hold their ball for us if we could be back in 15 minutes.  So we raced back to the boat as fast as our 3.5 HP could take us and got on to a permanent ball.  We had the rest of the day free to enjoy this unique destination.

 

Block Island is approx 10 square miles with a big body of water – Great Salt Pond – in the middle.  That’s where we’re staying.  It reminds me of a big campground.  There are lots of families and groups of people tied up together.  There are little stores that carry a little of everything at exorbitant prices, a big restaurant/bar with lawn games set up, and a short walk into a quaint town.  There are boats that deliver pastries in the morning, ice all day, and appetizers at happy hours.  It’s the perfect getaway where you can lay low and relax, but when you need a little activity there’s a place to go.  For people without a boat, you can take a ferry over and stay at a B&B or local, non-chain motels.  I can see why it’s so popular.

 

To announce their arrival, the bakers shout out, "Adiamo"
 

We planned on staying 3 nights, but the weather said we’re staying 5 nights.  On day 4 a wicked, bad storm blew in and we weren’t going anywhere.  The winds were awful and the boat would pivot 100 degrees.  Our temporary repair of the windshield held like a charm – we were quite proud of ourselves.  We spent most of the day roughing out our next 3 week itinerary.  By about 7pm the winds finally calmed down a bit and we started to see people peaking their heads out of their boats.  We had a bad case of cabin fever so went up to The Oar Restaurant/Bar for some human interaction and a cocktail.  While the bartender was drawing Jack’s beer we saw a lady on our dingy playing with the motor.  I went down to see what was going on.  She said she saw gas dripping from the motor – the fuel on/off switch was broken.  We motored home until we ran out of gas, then Jacked rowed the rest of the way in.  I don’t think Block Island is our friend.

 

View of the dinghy dock from The Oar
 

The weather was supposed to improve, but not enough for us to venture out.  There was a small-craft advisory out until 11am, so we decided to stay for night 5.  We spent a good part of the day trying to get the dinghy fixed.  The part that’s broken wasn’t available and the mechanic’s attempt to by-pass the switch didn’t work, so we’ll have to wait until we get to Mystic.  Since it was our last night on Block Island we decided to go in to The Oar for one last cocktail then back to the boat for burgers.  While we were enjoying happy hour we got a phone call from Dave and Patty – one of the couples we met in Hadley’s Harbor a week earlier.  They just arrived in Block Island and wondered if we were still there.  We joined them, along with Lee and Ed, for dinner on “Crazy Couple” – their 38’ catamaran.  It was a wonderful night.  We hope to connect up with them in the Chesapeake in September or October.

 

I’m sure some of you are thinking that we’re either inept or crazy – maybe both.  We are so hard on ourselves when we get into some of these situations.  Then we talk with people who have more experience than we do and have similar (or worse) stories than ours.  We’ve come to understand that everything that we are experiencing has already been experienced by every other boater out there.  We feel so much better when we hear other people’s stories.  We’re not inept or crazy – we’re just another couple of boaters having the time of our lives.

CUTTYHUNK - FAREWELL MASSACHUSETTS

He Said:   Hello Blog Readers.  We made it to Oak Bluffs with no problem and arrived in the late AM. We normally hit the water around 8AM and try to arrive wherever we are heading by noon. We spent just 1 nite in this very cool town that we mentioned earlier - kind of Cabo-like.  We took the very short dingy ride into town that nite for dinner and had our very first lobster roll.  It was very good, but for about $18.00 it really is a sub roll with lobster in it.  But it was very tasty.  We met a nice couple at the bar we were eating at that was so kind as to share part of their dinner with us.  Sounds crazy, but the restaurant will prepare your fish for you that you catch on these fishing boats, so that is what they did.  We enjoyed a bite or 2 of it, and it rocked.

 

We headed out first thing on Thursday to return to our favorite little hole called Hadley’s Harbor.  Yes, this is the peaceful/free mooring spot we stayed at the week before. We are great at returning to places we enjoy - we have done that for years in Phoenix.  Our trip was great with slight winds and 1 or 2 foot waves - we like both of these things.  As we pulled into our little cove a boat beat us by about 30 seconds to the last free mooring ball.  Our only choice was to head somewhere else, wait for someone to leave (fat chance that early) or anchor time.  What a great place for a new experience.  In our near 10 weeks of boating we have either been on the ball or been in a slip. We had no problem with the anchor holding in about 7 or so feet of water.

 

The first day of 3 was really nice but the next 2 days were sort of crappy, overcast and windy.  So we felt if we pulled anchor and moved deeper into the cove we would be more protected, and we were.  On Saturday we met some really nice people (Glen and Debbie) while cruising around on the dingy.  Glen was so nice to help me repair our windlass which stopped working when we were anchoring the 2^nd time.  For those of you that know my mechanical ability you also know that Glen fixed my windlass.   I of course handed him the proper tools (of course, he told me what tool to hand him).  Anyhow, about 1 ½ hours later we had a working anchor again.  Thank heaven.

 

Jess, Nick, Glen, Dave, Patty and Debbie
 

That nite our new best friends invited Pat and me to join them and their cousin’s family for a great dinner. So Dave, Patty, Nick, and Jess and the other 4 of us had a wonderful dinner and a few cocktails.  Great margaritas!  Both Dave and Glen own beautiful catamarans, one at 38 ft. the other 42 ft - I believe that’s correct.

 

So we left the hole on Sunday AM arriving in Cuttyhunk for our final nite in Mass.  Had a nice peaceful day here and hope to hit it tomorrow by about 8 AM - of course, weather permitting.  We should arrive by about lunch time in Newport, Rhode Island.  Later in the week we’re off to Block Island R.I.

 

Hopefully our motorcycle friends arrived today safely in Sturgis for the big ride. Hello to the Butlers,  Korwins, and Bill O’Shea, I’m sure you guys are enjoying the ride, have a safe ride back to Phoenix. That’s about it for now, not too eventful but that’s all good.

 

Take Care, Jack

She Said:  It was a short trip to Falmouth where we fueled up and filled our water tanks.  We’re still doing OK at about 1.5 MPG.  Since our last fill-up we figured out that our port fuel tank is the one that fuels our generator, so we’re putting 10-20 additional gallons in that tank.  We think we’re using 1 gallon of diesel for every 3 hours of generator use.  Just another thing to think about in our new life.

 

We were then on to Hadley’s Harbor.  It was mid morning and we followed a boat into the harbor.  Wouldn’t you know it – that boat got the last mooring ball.  That meant we were going to have to drop our anchor for the first time.  We read about anchoring and we practiced with the anchor, but we never actually anchored before.  There was an area with several boat anchored – mostly sailboats and one powerboat.  We drove near the powerboat and told them that we had never anchored before and asked them if they had any tips.  They were great and talked us through the whole thing.  I think we could have done it on our own, but it is always good to have help.

Meant To Be in Hadley's Harbor
 

 

As we do most days, we took the dinghy out and cruised the mooring field.  (Cruising the mooring field is Jack’s new version of walking the neighborhood.)  We met a nice guy from Mystic, CT (in our future plans).  He gave us lots of tips and ideas on places to visit en-route to New York.  We also met a couple from Palm City, FL.  They were very nice and gave us good cruising information in Florida.  We hope to meet up with them in Marathon in the Florida Keys.

 

As much as we like Hadley’s Harbor, the weather there just doesn’t like us.  The weather turned windy and rainy while we were there, and as a result our anchor dragged (as did our neighbor’s), but it did reset itself.  We decided to find a more secure place.  The couple from FL came aboard and helped us relocate – which was really helpful.  While moving to the new place, the wind caught one of our front windows and cracked it in half.  Then, as we were dropping the anchor, the windlass (the electronics that operates the anchor) just stopped working.  That meant we had to drop the anchor manually.  That also meant we were going to have to take the anchor up manually, and I wasn’t looking forward to that.  On top of that, we invited a few people over for happy hour and no one was able to come.  We’ve certainly had better days. 

 

Every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case the silver lining was Glen and Debbie.  With no happy hour guests, we took the dinghy out and cruised the mooring field.  (Cruising the mooring field is Jack’s new version of walking the neighborhood.)  There was this really nice catamaran with a hammock strung across the back – it was really neat.  So we shouted out to the owners, Glen and Debbie, and ended up having a nice visit with them.  They invited us to join them on a dinghy ride the next morning in search of seals.  It was a great trip for us because we never would have ventured out that far on our own.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see any seals.  Glen offered to take a look at our windlass and he was able to fix it.  Meanwhile, Debbie was back at their boat fixing homemade pizzas for lunch, and they invited us to join them. 

 

Glen and Debbie were expecting another catamaran to “raft” with them that evening.  They arrived while we were having lunch.  As they were rafting alongside and throwing lines, an errant throw resulted in a line getting tangled in a propeller.  It wasn’t as bad as our line in the propeller several weeks earlier, because they had their own scuba tank.  Glen gave us very helpful lessons on the proper way to throw a line.  One thing led to another and the next thing you know we were back there for dinner.  What a wonderful evening with really great people – we had so much fun (and the food was excellent).  We hope our paths cross again!  (p.s. Best of luck in Boston Jess & Nick)

 

Our last stop in Massachusetts was Cuttyhunk – the southernmost of the Elizabeth Islands.  This remote island is where William Taft accompanied President Roosevelt on a fishing trip.  The fishing lodge still exists today.  That’s about all there is on Cuttyhunk – except for the views, and they’re great!  The pictures don’t do it justice.  There was an art/craft show while we were there.  It consisted of four vendors.  We climbed to the top of the island and had a wonderful panoramic view of the island, Vineyard Sound, and Buzzard’s Bay.  We took the dinghy to a small, but nice sandy beach.  The winds started howling, so we only stayed about an hour.  The only restaurant in town is a pizza parlor, so we decided to eat it.  Weather permitting, we’ll be heading to Newport, RI in the morning.