First overnight 2009

West End Light is the Target we shoot for when going to Bassets Island

Ellen and I had actually planned on leaving on July 4 for Bassets, but because of a high wind forecast, and because we are both retired now, we decided to leave on Sunday for our first overnight cruise. Sunday morning Ellen, I And Neilli went out to the boat about 11 am but the wind was blowing 15 with gusts to over 20 mph so we stayed on the mooring, read and straightened up the boat. About 2:30 the wind seemed to have calmed down a bit so I took a reef in the main and we cast off. We were moving along OK and the wind did not seem too bad, so I pulled the jib all the way out and we picked up some speed. As we got into the Bay the seas became bumpy and mixed in their direction and after we cleared Bird Island light the wind all of a sudden picked up in intensity. In hindsight I probably should have pulled the jib back in but I had enough to do just trying to keep the boat on course. We made record time over to the entrance and doused sail behind Scraggy Neck. Then we had a nice motoring to the anchorage. Ellen put us on the spot, the anchor went over and grabbed quickly. The wind was still up around 20 but we were in the lee and so somewhat protected. No big seas, but lots of wind. I did not attempt to take Nell ashore, because there have been issues in the past of getting the outboard to start and I did not want to get blown across the harbor. The inflatable does not track well when attempting to row in a high wind.

We had fresh grilled Swordfish, asparagus and Couscous for dinner. The wind came down and I was able to get Nell ashore so she could do her thing. The Seagull started right up and ran perfectly. Nell will not "go" on the boat which means I always have to get her ashore. Upon return we had carrot cake for desert. Spent the evening reading & knitting and retired early.( Really sound like Old Farts here, but after the harrowing ride across we were both quiet tired.) Monday dawned warm, sunny and flat calm. There were only about 4 of us left anchored, where the night before there were at least 15 boats. Because there was no wind we motored out of the harbor and as we cleared West End Light we saw the Sailing Ship Kruzenshtern motoring out of the Cape Cod Canal. So we headed over and took some pictures. When she was coming from Bermuda to Charleston in June, she ran into a squall which blew out the fore topmast. No one was hurt and when they got to Charleston they had that section removed, and they are taking it home to Russia to be repaired.
I have posted more pictures on the web album which you can find filed under "stuff to look at" on the right had side of my blog. In the last picture in that series there is a 3 masted schooner in the far right of the picture. Barely discernible, and it was headed to Boston for the Tall Ships, and although we passed close aboard I must have been doing something important because we do not have a good picture. In any case she is the Annabelle, out of Newport, RI and she is available for charter for around 2 grand a week per person. We are going to try to head off to Woods Hole and the Islands next week so I will keep you posted.

Fishing with Tim

Tim Came home for a weekend visit in August and we took him sailing to Tarpaulin Cove on Naushon Island for an overnight. We left on Friday, August 22, in the mid-morning and had a nice breeze, on the nose of course all the way across the bay to Woods Hole. Had to make a couple of tacks to clear Penzance Point to get into the passage. Current was running with us and Tim took us through without any trouble and then down Vineyard sound to the cove. We dropped the hook and took the dinghy ashore so Nell could pee & poop. Can't get her do do it onboard the boat so I run her in, in the morning, before we go to bed, before we get underway. Ellen & Neilli walked the beach while Tim & I walked around the shore and then up to the lighthouse. We had a nice view down the sound and then returned to the boat for cocktails, fishing off the stern, and a wonderful Swordfish dinner. The next morning we got up, I took the dog ashore of course,came back and had breakfast, we all went for a swim, some briefly, I to scrub the bottom, (the water was some chilly, colder than Flathead Lake)and without any wind cranked up the engine and headed home. We took a swing into Little harbor to check the remodeled Christian Homestead before heading back through the Hole into Buzzards Bay. Did not put the sails up until just off Cleveland's Ledge. Tim trolled all the way but never got a bite. Sunday we had a cookout with horseshoes in the backyard and on Monday he headed back to Florida.

Phase 2 of this took place the weekend of Sept 13 when, as part of a father's day present, I received a round trip air plane trip to Delray Beach for a weekend of fishing. Having only been to Florida in the winter, I had no idea how hot and muggy it could be in September. Friday we went to the International Fishing Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale. We saw John Mason's old boss's, (Frank Mather from the Woods Hole Oceanographic), fishing jacket and portrait. Lots of fish models hanging from the ceiling and exhibits to browse. Went out to lunch and went home to get ready for Saturday's fishing adventure. Tim's original plan was to take me fishing on his boat, but he was having problems with the engine. So we ended going on Option C. Option B was a friends boat, but the galley was torn up, Option D was a Head Boat which I am glad we did not use. We went out on the Venture Out II, a Blackfish 29, with Capt. Rex and Mate Jaime. We left the dock at a little after 8am and headed out into the Atlantic. Caught a couple small Skipjack Tuna on the way out. Jaime heard reports that their were Dolphin out around the 600 foot mark so we headed to deep water but found nothing so we headed back towards shore. I thought that it was interesting that all the communication was by cell phone. We would hook up and the phone would start ringing. It would be other mates noting that we had stopped and asking what we were catching and how it was going. Used to be tons of chatter on the VHF radios but now it is all by cell. It's also more private. It was a good thing we were on the bigger boat because it was still lumpy from the Hurricane. It was off the Ritz where we really got into the fish. We had been towing a lure that was held down to about 30 feet with a plane devise on wire line. This was for the illusive Wahoo. That line went off and immediately one of the outrigger lines went off and I was struggling with the wire and Tim was on a Dolphin. We finally got both fish in, mine ended up being the largest for the day. After that it was more Black fish Tuna and more Dolphin.

Jaime's laughing because the fish was some slippery and did not want to be held

We had decided to go in around noon but the skipper kept us out until 1pm. Just as we were getting ready to head home both rods went off and Tim & I had fish on. But they wrapped the lines and both broke off. It certainly was the best fishing that I have ever had. 5 Dolphin, 11 Blackfish Tuna, 2 Skipjack Tuna and a couple of undersize Dolphin which wee returned.

Sunday Tim had friends over for a cookout and we smoked a bunch of fish. Altogether a great weekend and I headed back home on Monday. You can check out the fishes we caught in my stuff section. just click on Fishing with Tim will take you to the album.

Quissett Harbor first overnight 2008

We left Marion on Saturday morning with Neilli aboard for a cruise to Quissett for an overnight and to check out our new inflatable dinghy's performance. It took us 2 hours to cross the bay and find a mooring in the harbor. The boatyard at Quissett would prefer that you pick one of it's moorings rather than anchor because of their underwater grid. The moorings are free during the day and for an overnight they charge $30 in the outer harbor, where we stayed this time, and $40 in the inner harbor. We have always been able to find a mooring the times we have been here. The dinghy towed well with 2 lines on the way over. On the way home I decided to only use the bow line and it worked as well. The two lines are to stop the dinghy from flipping in high winds, but we certainly had strong breezes and waves all the way home on Sunday and there never was an indication that the dinghy was going to turn over. Our hard dinghy weighs about the same and we have never had any trouble towing it with only one line. The picture is of an old USCG 52' Buoy Tender moored in Quissett. Some of you may recognize it as a boat that was once owned by Dick Edwards. It's now owned by the boatyard and he has plans of restoring it. Quissett is a nice overnight for us, easy to get to, usually one tack from Marion, it is quiet, has a nice conservation area walk that goes out to a knob in the bay. We loaded everyone in the dink for a ride up the harbor and to take Nel for a walk. I would like to say that the Seagull engine worked flawlessly but that wasn't the case. I nearly had to row us back but finally got to start. Next year we are going to upgrade the motor.

When we got to the head of the harbor there was a group of well dressed people standing around.We thought that their might be a wedding in the making. We headed out for the knob, and the group shortly followed us. Instead of a wedding it was a baby naming ceremony. The baby , (at least a year old)was in a white dress with a herb garland on her head. There were two people using bodrun drums(traditional Irish drums) and one carrying burning herbs. It was a pagan/druid ceremony we guessed. I got in a little trouble for pulling Ellen off the knob early before the ceremony was completed and it turned out that we had friends out in the harbor who saw us on the knob , heard the drums, saw the smoke, but did not know what was going on. We had a great dinner on board thanks in part to the Marion General Store and on Sunday Omelets and Italian bacon for breakfast before we headed home.

Back in the Water

We are in the water. It's tough to tell the difference but we have a new dodger and sailcover. I think it makes the boat look a lot better. The sailcover actually fits this time and is easy to put on. The dodger is about 8 inches lower than the previous one that came with the boat. Both were built by Sperry Sails here in Marion. Ben Sperry built them this past winter and did a really nice job. Ellen can see over it now and the glass is clear so you can actually see out of it. On the old one we always had to open the center portion to see where we were going. Now we have protection and visibility. Norm Methot also built us a new shelf for little stuff that sits under the Depth/Speedo instruments. Looks like it was a part of the original boat and takes care of car keys, cell phone and other small stuff that we want to get out of our pockets. Certainly one of the best additions we have installed. I have also added a davit (removable), for lifting the outboard out of the inflatable, so we will only be towing the inflatable. I am selling the hard dinghy that I put together while still at Edey & Duff. Any one looking for a nice little 8' row boat let me know.

Loading up and getting ready to head for the water. The boat is all set, engine runs, the sails are on and we are just about ready to go. A few little things to take care of and we should be underway this weekend. Off to a new season. This year we have a new dodger, sail cover and a new Aakron inflatable.(Thought it might have come from Ohio, but actually China via New Zealand) The inflatable came from Florida, saw it with Tim at the Dania flea Market. We will have to get some pictures to send along it is going to be interesting we will be powering it with the old Seagull outboard. Could be my downfall.

Sailing_: Branwyn's first sail

Branwyn's first sail crossing Narragansett bay heading towad her new home in Marion. The credit for this photo goes to Paula Myers. We thank John & Paula for coming out to meet us as we headed for their dock in Tiverton. It took us 2 days to bring our new sailboat home. The most sailing we did was on the first day. The second day was all under power. We know that the engine works well. We had a good summer, overnighted at Tarpaulin Cove, Bassett's Island and Quisette Harbor. Lots of evening sails and the boat was hauled in early October and now sits in our front yard.

Sailing_:Tien Ho at the mooring

Getting ready for a sail on a blustery day. This picture was taken a number of years ago when we were both younger and more nimble. The boat is now for sale as we have moved up to one with full standing headroom. We will get some pictures of the new boat up sometime. We had a lot of fun on Tien Ho-did some cruising and a lot of day sails in Buzzards Bay.