Chapter IV Newfoundland - 2013

So I haven't posted in a couple of days because we've been in discussions about this trip.  For a variety of reasons, Mark just hasn't been as excited about this adventure as he has about others before, and I could tell even before he left.  He called home from Provincetown, facing the prospect of yet aNOTHER engine repair (more loose connections on this trip than you can shake a roll of electrical tape at), a month until he had company (I was planning on joining him in Cape Breton), and crappy weather.  The conversation went something like this:  Him - how badly would you kill me if I decided to just come home?  Me - only a little,  Him - ok, good.  

 There were some mushy bits in there from him about how much he missed me, and some from me about how he needed to be happy out there and if he's not, he should come home....bottom line is he's headed back this-away.

Cutty Hunk yesterday; Mystic today.  Weather permitting, he'll be back home early to mid next week.

takeaway message - ya gotta be feelin it or ya shouldn't be doin it  ;) 

So Mark stayed in Chatham, spent the 4th of July holiday there.  They had an amazing parade, apparently, but few fireworks.  Chatham had one of the few parades on the island, and it lasted over an hour.  He's been visiting with Carol and Charlie, reading, relaxing, and otherwise being lazy. 

Must be nice to be retired.....  ;)

I've shown Mark how to respond to these postings......let's see if he remembers and comments to add in a few of the details. 

Next scheduled departure is July 9, heading back for Woods Hole to the canal and up north again.

Mark stayed over in RI an extra day to ride out some very bad weather that has been moving around the East coast.  He spent the day with Andree and David, reminiscing, solving the world's problems, and repairing furniture.  Oh - and bought a new CD player so he could listen to all the CD's he bought cause the old one refused to play anymore.

:)

All in all, quite productive!

This morning, he set sail for Cutty Hunk Island, and got there around 1:30.  According to Mark, "Lovely sail.  Good breeze, broad reach.  No rain.  :-)"   And just last night Mark was talking about the high humidity up in that area........ [insert dagger-eyes here] 60%.

Right.  

If any of you are tracking his progress via the Excel spreadsheet he sent, it's already off.  If you wanted to do a leg as crew, let me know when you wanted to go, or where you wanted to go, and I'll see what the latest calculations are.

Cheers

So Mark made it to RI, and will be meeting up with his sister and brother-in-law.

Yesterday, evidently, there was a 30% chance of rain while he was sailing towards Mystic.....which rained on him 100% of the time.  So much for probabilities.

No update since he got to Wickford, so I presume they're all out bar hopping or something.  ;) 

Unfortunately, I got sidetracked and haven't put in the details for the calls I've gotten nightly.  Let's see, where did I leave off.....?

June 25 - Mark anchored in the Shark River after a day of motor sailing.  Turns out that he had anchored in shallow water and had run aground by morning.....thank goodness for tides.  ;)

On the way out, he had to avoid fishing boats on their way to grab the day's catch. 

Oh....did I mention that in order to get up the East River the next morning, he had to be at the Batter by 8am, which meant he had to wake up at 3am and leave by 4am.....hence dodging fishing boats.  :)

June 26 - made it all the way up the river to Atlantic Highland, which is below Sandy Hook.  Apparently the area is still a mess from Sandy.  He managed to find a good Italian deli on recommendation from the locals, and got some bread - jury's still out on whether the bread is any good.  But I guess that's not relevant, really, cause Mark forgot the name of the shop, and there's nothing printed on the receipt.

On the up side, this was...

Here we go again!  ;)

Mark and Lady set sail, well, motor, for Newfoundland by way of wherever he lands each day.  He left on June 22, and promptly had engine trouble.  Of course.  Didn't make it all the way to Chesapeake City, but did find out he had a screw loose.  So did the engine.....

Next day, off to Cape May, where he had - wait for it - engine trouble!  After using his Boat US towing package (yes, again), he got into a marina, and crashed.  Found out the next morning that his wiring wasn't all there.  On the engine, either.  ;)

Fixed that, headed off to Atlantic City, got there today, within sight of Harrah's, and had no incidents!  Amazing!  ;)

Stay tuned for daily or every other day updates, and if any of you want to do a leg or several, let me know and I'll send you the float plan.

Cheers!

Mark and Lady rolled in around 4pm today, more than ready to be finished with the trip.  It was a long and relatively uneventful trip, even for Mark....he obviously wasn't trying.  ;)

No word on when the next trip might be.....nor on when we'll see any pictures.....  I expect, at a minimum, not until the ground stops moving.  

Cheers 

Yesterday Mark went from Atlantic City to Cape May, left at TFE (that's boat speak for too f****** early) because the current was so strong he thought the boat anchor would drag, and so he couldn't sleep, and so woke up at 430 and got ready to go.

Nothing eventful happened yesterday.   Unless you count Mark getting to Cape May, dropping anchor, getting too close to another boat and trying to fight against anchor drag, wrapping the anchor line around the propeller shaft, getting even closer to the other boat, dropping another anchor, grabbing a knife, borrowing some goggles, swimming in the Delaware Bay while he cut the anchor line, unwrapping the line, getting back into the boat, and adjusting everything.  And getting a nice dinner from his new friends in the other boat, who are from Kingston, Ontario (yay).

So it was just another day on the water......  ;)

Today was the next to last day, long haul up the Delaware Bay, across the Chesapeake-Delaware Canal, to Chesapeake City.  He'll be home tomorrow, weather and other things permitting, and says the first thing he wants to do is take a shower.  I don't think the chemicals in the...

Not a bad motor....Mark crossed the line though, literally.

As he was travelling down the East River, he crossed a very straight line where the blue sea water met the brown river water.  Hopefully he took pictures, which I hope to see someday....and post!

Today's trip is to Atlantic City, which is a 10-hour trip on the best of days.

Target arrival date is still September 3

cheers!

Mark and Lady spent the storm in Huntington Yacht Club.  Well, Lady was there.  Mark was in a hotel room.  The YC got flooded; Lady did fine.

He's about 2 - 3 days behind schedule now.  Sunday was spent putting the sails back up, getting miscellaneous vegetation off the deck, getting supplies, and prepping for the next stop.

Yesterday was getting to Manhasset so that he could figure the tides for the ride down the East River.  Today is going down the river to Shark River.  Tides were in his favor starting about 11:30 am, so he had a late start.

At this point, both of them are just ready to get home!  Saturday is the expected arrival date.....pending any more engine, weather, skipper, or sea monster issues...  ;)

cheers

Mark is holed up in a hotel room till Sunday night at best, Monday at worst.  Lady is in a slip at Huntington Yacht Club and secured for the storm.  I am leaving Boston to drive home to secure the house, which is on the edge of the 'red zone' wind-wise, and to get puppy dog out of the vacation kennel so he can go through this with mommy.

More later!

So - I leave, Matt comes in, and they toddle off to Chatham to visit Carol and Charlie.  Nice visit.....great weather....side trip to P-town during Carnival (NOT FAIR!!!) 

Next stop,  Wickford, RI to visit Andree and David....side trip to Newport where there was an international wine festival of some sort that they did *not* visit (WTF???), then drop Matt off to head south.  Meanwhile, I'm in Troy having a grand time cooking on a Viking stove  (thanks Peter and Erica!)

Mark left RI on the 22nd for Watch Hill, RI - uneventful trip.

23rd in Duck Island Roads, also uneventful except.........Hurricane Irene is brewing in the Carribbean, and is fixin' to come straight up the Chesapeake Bay sometime around Sunday.  Which means my vacation is gonna be cut short unless it bounces off of the Carolinas (like it does most of the time), and Mark has to find shelter.  We're both watching the weather forecast.

Oh - and little to no wind over the past couple of days, despite some pretty impressive cloud formations.  Ah the life of a sailor......

more later

cheers

Getting up to Nantucket by car was almost more difficult than getting there by boat.  Everyone had a day pass for driving, it rained all the way up, they all braked for falling raindrops....bloody amazing.

Only made it as far as New Haven on the first day.  Second day (15th), it was still raining, they were still braking for raindrops, and the roads were periodically flooded.  Boat would have been better.

Finally got to Hyannis, got to the off site parking area, the shuttle came up, the driver got out, and he promptly left.  Which means I missed the 2:45 ferry and had to wait.  Fortunately, we boarded during a lull in the downpour, and by the time we got to Nantucket, it had completely stopped raining.

After a beer and some, um, other recreation, we settled in for a nice, cool night with no rain (yay!)

cheers 

Sunday, 14^th

From Geoff Secker

Hi Elaine!  Love Ya!

My last report.  Looking back some of the dates appear wrong, but the days were right.  Arrived in Nantucket on Saturday and I am flying out on Monday.  We had to motor from Hyannis to Nantucket due to lack of wind or wind in the wrong direction.  Boo hoo.  Better than being at work.  Weather has been fabulous.  Mark and I spent the say on Sunday sightseeing on the island.  I had lobster roll for lunch so I achieved all major objectives of the day. 

Kathy joins Mark sometime tomorrow. 

Thanks Mark for letting me come along.  I had a blast.

Wednesday, 12^th

From Geoff Secker

Hi Elaine!  Love Ya!

Last night we spent at Cutty Hunk Island, MA  which is a small island.  Had to moor.  Full time population is 15 (fifteen).  In the summer the population on the island booms to 350.  The “shopping” is limted to:  a market which is the first floor of a house – about 15 x 15’; an ice cream stand, a fishing boat (one) to take you out fishing; a place that sells shrimp dip and t-shirts, and a store that sells fresh fish.   That’s all folks.  No showers, no laundry.  No cabs, no bridges (see earlier reports)   We purchased a few fresh lobsters.  The guy sells lobsters all day long, then brings them all home, cooks, them, and then comes back with them and you pick them up at 6:00.  Just...

Hi Elaine!  Love Ya!

Stayed at Block Island last night.  Unable to get a dock hookup or mooring which meant dropping anchor and therefore no showers.

 Headed to Newport.  Picked up more flies while sailing.  Not sure where them come from when we are at least 3 miles from land.  Could be related to no showers.  Arrived at Newport, less 6 flies.  I killed 5 and one jumped ship.  Once in port the flies left for the local pub I think…

 And on to an adventure.  We lost a cowl vent, which is something that helps air vent into the ship.  No big deal, so we went looking for the parts.  First store no luck but they sad another shop might have it.  If you have read the other blogs you know where this is going.  Armed with map and...

Tuesday the 9^th.  Left Mystic and headed for Block Island.  8 hour trip, mostly sunny with a bit of rain thrown in to make the trip realistic.  Arrived at Block Island to find out that there is some type of tournament going on so there are no tie ups available.  Pulled out the anchor and settled in for the night.  This is why every boat needs a privy.  Fortunately, Mark’s boat does, and we had food from earlier shopping.  Oh yes, and we had also picked up some wine and more scotch.

Wednesday, leaving for Newport RI

Geoff arrived by train in the afternoon in Mystic, CT and joined Mark..

Monday the 8^th.  A bit more fun with directions.  Mark and Geoff using their cell phones.  Found an A&P grocery store that is only 4 blocks away, except that it is no longer there.  It is now a CVS.  Headed South toward another grocery store and after a mile determined that the cell phone was indicating Stonington Road, but North of Mystic.  Called a cab.  Actually there is a grocery store at 129 Stonington road, North of Mystic, and another one at 179 Stonington Road South of Mystic.. This is all mystic to us.  Anyway, the cab driver knew where the grocery store was (cab drivers are becoming useful).  So provisions were gathered.  The rest of the day was spent being tourists in Mystic, which is actually very cool and...

A HA!  I knew it!  The Gods were just toying with him and his relatively boring journey to date.  :)

Mark docked at the Brewer Bruce and Johnson's Marina (yes, that its name; no, I don't know why), located in beautiful downtown Branford, CT (no, I don't know where that is....).  After putting all the sails and other miscellaneous stuff away, Mark went to the dockmaster to ask whether there was a grocery store nearby.  He said yes....just go out the front gate, turn left, at the fork in the road, take it (sorry, couldn't resist - go right), can't be more than a mile from here and you can't miss it.  It's called Karen's.

[anyone not see what's coming next?]

After walking and walking and walking and taking the fork in the road and crossing a bridge (what bridge?) and an abandoned factory and a ballfield (wait, what?) and a railroad station (are we still in Connecticut?), he finds a little bar/general store/restaurant.  Which is not the grocery store. 

So he gets something to drink, of course, and asks for directions.  They tell him to go out the door, turn left (which is back the way he came) go...

Mark took a short-ish hop to Norwalk Islands today, puttered around a bit to find a good anchorage, and then waited for the impending Thunderstorm of Doom that never actually materialized.  Or rather, materialized to the north, headed for him, dissolved, then reformed to the south.

Yes, Mark is a couple days ahead of schedule, but that's ok.  He'll get to Mystic right on time on Sunday.

PLUS, I got some pictures I'll load up.  This is turning into a rather uninteresting trip....must be something in the works.  ;)

Go here for pics. No idea what these things are....I mean other than boats.  Mark will have to comment.

cheers

Today was also a lot of sailing (yay!).  Except.....up there, there are boats that MOVE and poor Lady has some less than new sails and some years on her frame, and she got passed in light winds.  Mark just couldn't have that.  He put up the genoa and picked up some speed.  :)

Go Lady!

For those of you who don't know, Mark grew up in Northport, and likes to go back there (for some reason....not sure why cause he keeps marveling at how much Northport has changed in the 50(!) years since he lived there, but I'm just blogging....)

;)

Anyway.....  Northport is apparently a bustling sub-metropolis with lots of cars and houses and beaches with water you can no longer swim in and roads you can no longer walk on and parks that tell you to keep off the grass and on and on.  The house is still there, as is the infamous Back Bedroom (ask him - I'm sworn to secrecy), and he couldn't afford to buy it now even if he came out of retirement!  

So - another sail tomorrow.

cheers

As I'm flying home, Mark is (are you sitting down...?) SAILING into New York Harbor!  First real sail day all week.  I told him to take pictures, but I haven't seen any yet. 

It was really awesome (in the true sense of the word) to come into NY Harbor under sail, with all the large and small boats and traffic and noise.....  Mark ended up in Brewer Marine in Manhasset, sent me a message that he was taking a shower, and I never heard back for the rest of the night.  That must be some shower.....  ;)

cheers 

Today was a short hop to Sandy Hook, where Mark found a nice, sheltered, empty area near the Coast Guard station to drop anchor.  He had planned to refuel (no real sailing yet!), exercise the dinghy and go ashore to do some sight seeing, and generally relax.  

While he was watching the Coasties learn how to drop (and weigh) anchor over and over and over and over and over and......a few more boats moved into the neighborhood.  One anchored uncomfortably close; Mark's anchor dragged during the night, and he had to move.  I keep trying to tell him to tell incoming skippers that they need to back off instead of making him move, but he's just too nice (hold your sniggering, please.... ;)  )

Bad night all round, what with moving and rain and worrying that he'd drag anchor again.

Next stop, NY Harbor.

cheers 

"In Shark Riv....." oh never mind.

He's still on the same bottle of scotch, too.  Bets on how long that lasts?  It was full when he left......

So far, so good, unless you count actual time spent sailing as a requirement for a sailing trip.  In which case, he probably has about 3 hours in out of 4 days.  No injuries yet (that he's admitted), so whoever had day 4, you lost.

So today's tidbit is that the grill manufacturer says that the grill should be scrubbed after each use to keep its shiny coat.  Those of you who know Mark will understand when I say that his reaction to this rhymes will "truck hat." 

So.  Next contest - what will the text message read when he gets to his destination tomorrow?

cheers 

And on the third day, there was a great WIND.  And the SAILS did RISE and CARRY the boat to land of SIN and DEGRADATION!

"In Atlantic City.  Time for scotch"

Got a little sailing in, it seems.  And apparently the Jersey shoreline has had some upgrades/changes recently.  Like a new very, very tall building with a crane sitting on top doing something.  Probably building a helipad or some such nonsense.

Oh.  And the grill works!

tomorrow - Shark River.

 cheers! 

Been delayed with school work, but day 2 came and went with nary a sail in sight.  Chesapeake City to Cape May, motoring.  Good news - we have a routine.....text messages that say "In Chesapeake City.  Time for scotch."  "In Cape May.  Time for scotch"  Three guesses what he says tomorrow and the first two don't count.

Better news - he picked up a new grill at West Marine and will test it out tomorrow or the next day.

I can already tell I am going to have to start inventing stuff for these postings.....

cheers

Mark is off (his rocker) sailing again.  ;)  This time, it's six weeks up and back to Cape Cod.  Mostly the same route....Annapolis to Chesapeake City was day 1.

As with last time, he tells me what happens, and I embellish.  Unless I don't.  Those of you who know Mark will know that there are some things he does that no one can 'make up.'  ;)

Anyhoo.....day 1 was uneventful - hot, hazy, humid, generally nasty-ass mid-Atlantic summer weather (i.e., no wind). When the wind finally did pick up a bit, Mark 'motor sailed'.  At which point, the heavens opened up and he got caught in a big thunderstorm.  Yes, he got wet.

First night is being spent at the marina at Chesapeake City.  He sent a text saying, "Just got in to Chesapeake City.  Done for the day.  Now for scotch."  Of course.  [ed. note - nothing ever goes that smoothly with his trips]

And so about 30 minutes after he docked for the night, he was making dinner prior to another wave of storms.  And discovered that his $49 Kmart special propane grill had knobs that were rusted shut, and he couldn't use it.  Had to FRY his...

Mark and Lady came riding in today a bit after 2:30.  The slip wasn't free, so he's in the transient slip till they kick out the occupant of the one he usually has.  Skipper and vessel looked pretty good for the length of time they were both out. 

I know this posting is kind of late, but we had the do not disturb sign up for a bit...... ;)

As soon as Mark gets his act together, he's going to post photos on his Facebook page, and we'll make sure the link is public so all can see.

Loooooong trip, but all in all very worth it!

:)

Thank you to EVERYONE who helped along the way, to all of you who went along for the ride, and all of you who read this blog.

Cheers

....is a little less powerful than the last few times.  Mark is in Chesapeake City, got there with relatively few issues, and has only one small leak to look after.  Although it could have been interesting.....evidently there was a Navy vessel going down the Bay with a Coast Guard escort, and Mark got what they deemed to be 'too close'.  One of the escorts came over and told Mark to stay 300ft away from the Navy vessel.  So there.  

I mean, what in the world was Mark gonna do?  Ram the Navy vessel at the resounding speed of 6 knots?  Geez.

Mark is expecting the rain and nastiness tomorrow, and will leave around 6am, leak permitting.  So, I think, maybe, he'll actually be back here at home tomorrow!

Yea!

Made it to Cape May in good time - nice wind, motor sailing most of the way.  When Mark called, he was loading the waypoints into the GPS for the leg to Chesapeake City tomorrow.  The only issue there is that he is supposed to have a foul tide for half the trip (tide runs against the direction he's moving), which will cut his speed.  So the 50 miles may take longer than anticipated.

After that, the last 50-some mile stretch is home to Eastport!

:)