Cosgrove Crew Arrives

Mike and Marlene arrived on schedule even though I had left Jim's street name out of the email I sent them. Their GPS was going nuts. Fortunately, they are resourceful people and found us!






We spent their first day aboard off the boat. Go figure. They had never been to Boston, and we had only been there once with Bill and Karen. So, we took the Harbor Ferry to Long Wharf in downtown Boston for a beautiful day of sightseeing in the Cradle of Liberty. We jumped on a Trolley Tour to catch the highlights of this historic town, enjoyed the street entertainers, saw the places where the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre occurred, and learned that there are 300,000 students here. We also learned that there are 2,000 Dunkin' Donuts stores. (These east coast people love their coffee.) We strolled through the Quincy Market and thoroughly enjoyed all the people milling around and all the bike riders. This is a vibrant active city that we'd like to come back to spend more time exploring.

Our first day sailing, July 1, was perfect. We hoisted the main and jib and sailed at 6 and 7 knots north to Marblehead. There are huge marble rock formations marking the harbor......I didn't know that. Marblehead is called the birthplace of the American Navy. At the start of the Revolutionary War it was the 10th largest city. Today, the old town is the way it was then with narrow streets and houses that have plaques on them saying who they were built for and the date. Marlene and I talked to Marie who lives in a house built in 1683. She said that I would fit quite nicely in the low ceilings and doorways. Their friend visited and had to kneel in the bathtub. They still have the original windows with the wavy glass.






We are on a mooring at the Boston Yacht Club. It's the 3rd oldest yacht club in the country......1866. It's a very interesting harbor with 1500 moorings and million dollar houses.
We are amazed at the enthusiasm these New Englanders have for the 4th of July. It's a shame we can't be back in Bristol, NH, or stay here in Marblehead, but we'll continue to move north and stop when we stop. I don't know where we'll be so Happy 4th of July everybody. Hope it's a great holiday at White River Campground.

Martha's Vineyard to Boston

Jim Halpin

Martha's Vineyard

Cyndi McChesney

Tequila on a mooring ball (black sail cover)

Martha's Vineyard looked so cute that we decided to stay another day to see more of it. In a town (Oak Bluffs) on the island is an area filled with Victorian cottages and stores. Before the Civil War Methodists from all over the country would come to the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting and live in tents. Shortly after the war the tents were converted to tiny houses with small front porches and gingerbread trim. The meeting house is called The Tabernacle and was converted from a tent to a wooden structure in 1879. It can seat over 3,000 people. One of the residents told us there was something happening there every night. It is worth another trip to the island.

On Friday, June 25th, we headed toward Boston through Woods Hole (a tricky channel from Martha's Vineyard to Buzzard's Bay), through the Cape Cod Canal (with the tide running against us), and stopped north of Plymouth in a town called Scituate. It was a 12 hour day with the wind on the "nose"which meant no sailing. Still, it was a beautiful day with no navigational mistakes. Yea!!!!

Cyndi has become a valuable crew member. She can roll out the furling, handle dock lines, bungee the bikes, swat at mosquitoes, and helm. I drive like a drunken sailor, but she can head for a point and hold steady. That was great because Lou could check and recheck the navigation into North Weymouth, Massachusetts, and I could observe the islands and forts along the way. She has gotten her "sea legs"and finds it somewhat disturbing when things continue to "rock and roll"on land.

Here is a picture of our "new best friend", Jim. He lives in N. Weymouth in a house he built in the mid-1950s. Jim has tried to teach Lou about the tides, talked him through the many turns from Massachusetts Bay into the Back River of the Fore River, and found us a mooring for the few days we'll be here. It's time to say good-bye to Cyndi and wait for Mike and Marlene to arrive from East Lansing, so it's a great place to "lay-over." Jim's boat (on the right) and our boat (with the black sail cover) can't be more than 200 yards from his deck. He is able to bring his 44 foot Islander to his dock and haul it out or put it in up his own ramp and store it in his yard. Imagine that!!!

Jim regularly races with his friends on Tuesdays. He's the captain (84) and everyone else is slightly younger. His neighbor and friend, Dot, is 80 and tells us that she can "tail"or helm but doesn't have the strength to crank the wench. Another crew member has a bad back, but they usually finish in the top half of the field.

On our long day last Thursday, we saw a whale. That's a first for Lou and me. Thanks to Cyndi's sharp eyes we could identify it as a Northern Right Whale. We're in a protected habitat for this species which likes to summer in Cape Cod Bay, Gulf of Maine, and Bay of Fundy. We're in the right place to see more of them. There are only 400 Right Whales and they grow from 35 to 55 feet long and weigh up to 70 tons. We saw a little guy. It would be like comparing Kyle to his dad in height. We be watching for more.

MOSQUITOES!

We're finally on our way. Hooray! This is an old picture, but here's Tequila on Lake Michigan. We met our Colorado friend, Cyndi McChesney, on Sunday, and set sail (read that as motored) out of Narragansett Bay and into the Sakonnet River on 6-21-10. We're accustomed to Indian names in Michigan, but the Odawa speak differently than the indians in this area. We're having some difficulty pronouncing Waquoit, Quissett, Apponaug, Naushon, Pocasett, etc., and understanding them when spoken with the Rhode Island accent. We often have to be corrected.

We found a mooring in a quiet little harbor called Sachuest Cove for our first night "on the road." As we settled down for Cyndi's first night aboard, I was worried that our "night noises"(might also be known as snoring) might keep her awake. Instead it was the Invasion of the Mosquito Brigade. Thousands, or so it seemed, of those buzzing biting bugs were dive bombing any part of our bodies that was uncovered. The ATTACK mode would force us to cover our heads with the sheet until the heat and carbon monoxide would force us to poke our noses out. Word spread quickly and the ATTACK mode was put in gear quickly. Lou, Cyndi, and I all suffered in silence thinking that the other two were fast asleep. It wasn't until morning that we realized we were all swatting at those little buggers. It was after 1 am before the army moved on and we got to sleep. You can imagine how happy we were when the Harbormaster was banging on the boat at 6:30 am to collect his fee. Some days are just like that!

Cyndi's a good boat buddy who's willing to put up with no shower for a couple of days, water conservation, and many trips up and down the companionway steps.

The second night was at Cuttyhunk Island and found us prepared for the Mosquito Brigade. Screens were in place, all ports without screens were closed, and we sprayed with Deep Woods Off (should be renamed Ocean Off). No mosquitoes this night......only a huge rain storm that got the head pretty wet because we left the hatch up for air. Still it wasn't as bad as the biting bugs.

Now we're at Martha's Vineyard for the night and enjoying the cute town of Vineyard Haven.

KER-SPLASH!

Up the ladder ---- down the ladder------up the ladder=====

Going down is better than going up.

Good-bye 13 foot ladder; hello dinghy. We're in the water and floating just fine. After a weekend in Maine at a wedding, the sailing will really start. Cyndi McChesney, our friend from Colorado, will be joining us for the maiden week. Good thing she is a very flexible person with a positive attitude. Sometimes we need those traits.

While we've been waiting to get in the water we have been discovering how important this area was in the War of Independence. Last Saturday Lou and I went to the Gaspee Parade in nearby Warwick. What does that commemorate you ask? And, so did we. In 1772 the men (some wealthy people, some merchants, some shipbuilders and pirates) of the Warwick/Providence area attacked a British tariff ship, the HMS Gaspee which had gone aground near Warwick, RI. The British officially declared it "the first act of war by the Americans" because it was a planned attach and there was a shooting. The patriots captured the crew and burned the ship. So, every year the fife and drum corps from RI, Connecticut, and Massachusetts parade in costumes and people come from all around to celebrate the beginning of independence. Bristol, the little town we have been staying in, lays claim to the oldest Fourth of July parade in the nation. Everything is red, white, and blue. We're a little sorry that we won't be here to see the 2 1/2 hour long parade.

Stepping the Mast

A wall in Bristol

Going up!

Lou was carefully watching while the crane lifted our 54 foot mast into the air and onto the boat. These guys have done hundred of these procedures, but Lou still had to supervise it. :-)

We've been "camping out" on the boat since June 1 expecting to hit the water any day. But, we're still not there. We climb up and down about 13 feet several times a day. Actually, we've been enjoying having the time to catch up on tons of projects. This is such a cute town and area of Rhode Island, that we've done some exploring too. This is a street in Bristol.....

My birthday dinner at the New York Yacht Club in Newport was a memorable experience. We sat in the lawn chairs on top of a grassy ridge over-looking the busy harbor. Now as we sail by, we'll know how it is to actually be there. Ït took a letter of introduction for us to be able to eat there. We shared lobster macaroni and cheese. It was delicious.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS SAILING LIFE:

Never set a schedule because it's bound to change. (We thought we would be in the water by June 1st.)

Only invite guests who are very flexible. (The schedule is likely to change on a moments notice.)

If it can go wrong, it probably will. (We moved the sink top. Then we discovered that that disconnected the drain hose. So, when I drained the dish water, it all went into the newly painted bilge.)

We have met the nicest people. (The marina staff are fabulous, the Commodore and his wife have gone out of their way to socialize with us, a stranger wrote a letter of recommendation for us to go to the NYYC, etc. etc. etc.)

Cleaning and maintaining a boat is darn hard work! (Lou takes Ibuprofen on a regular basis.)

Making little repairs in a timely manner is so important. (It means that you are always working on a "fix it" project.)

Sleeping in sheets is a true luxury. (Sixteen day of sleeping in sleeping bags made us appreciate a "proper" bed last night. However, it was so cold we had to break out a sleeping bag to add to the covers. Thank heavens we brought them on the boat.)

Still Landlubbers

Neighbors......

Rhodedendrons

June 2010 is so much better than June of 2009. We're still sitting 13 feet in the air on jack stands but the weather is warm and sunny as opposed to cold and rainy. We always have hopes of being in the water and on our way before Memorial Weekend, but that never happens.

Our neighbors in the marina yard (that's us on the left) have been super. They invited us to dinner, poured over the charts and shared their favorite stopping spots and then gave us the charts. Bob is the Commodore at the yacht club next door. He invited us to the Friday night dinner and got us an invitation to the New York Yacht Club in Newport. That's where we'll spend my birthday this year. It's very exclusive. Lou will have to borrow a coat and tie from the front desk in order to go in. Bob is also taking Lou on a Wednesday night club race and I'm going with Camille to see their son play lacrosse. We are so lucky to have met them.

We might have missed the tulips in Holland and the lilacs on Mackinac Island, but we were here to see the rhododendrons in full bloom. I didn't know they could grow so big. People use them like privacy shrubs.

The other thing we've noticed in Rhode Island is that the drivers are fearless
(read that as crazy). They drive erratically, run red lights, ignore stop signs, and merge whenever they want. You have to be a defensive driver to survive here. The high seas must be safer.

The work has begun on the cracked rib so our nicely cleaned boat will have to be washed again. That's OK.......you always find the little bit of mold you missed the first time. Both Lou and I agree that having all these days to thoroughly clean, paint, and do projects has been wonderful. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before we are in the water.