Hard Times Enroute to Joshua Cove

Thursday, August 4:  We had a long way to go, today, to get to Joshua Cove, CT, so we weighed anchor at 7 am.  The weather was balmy, but otherwise like yesterday.

We were motoring and leading MerSea out of the anchorage, calling them occasionally on the VHF to report water depths.  The tide was lower than when we came in, yesterday, and had about an hour to go to the low.

We made it past one known shallow area and were negotiating the final turn to leave the harbor.  It was narrow, here, and the current was running swiftly, causing a whole line of breaking waves in front of us.  Then…

CRUNCH!  What the??  Aground, again!! 

MerSea saw what happened to us and was being pushed along by the swift current, so they quickly made a slight left turn, passed us on our port side, and made it safely out of the harbor.

Ted initially tried to motor us off the pebbly bottom, but this didn’t work.  Then, he got into the dinghy and Sheila and I prepared two kedge anchors for him.  Ted set the first one out from our starboard quarter.  He wanted to set it more forward, but the current was so swift that his electric dinghy motor was not powerful enough to drag the kedge anchor rode through the water to the spot he wanted, so he just dropped the anchor where he could.

I cranked it in, but it had no effect.

Next, Ted took the second kedge and was able to set it just off our starboard bow, right where he wanted it.  The current was already easing up, so his motor was able to get the job done.  I cranked it in, but still nothing.

About a half hour later, the boat started to bob a little and make crunching noises.  Within a few more minutes, we broke free!  We recovered the kedges and were back on our way, having lost only an hour from our intended schedule.

Once we rounded the Orient Point lighthouse, we were hoping that the breeze would be strong enough and behind our beam, so we could have nice spinnaker run to Joshua Cove.  But, alas, it was too light to sail, so we just motored.

We had a strong following current that gave us a boat speed over the bottom of 7.5 to 8 kt, so we got to Joshua Cove around 1:30 pm – quite a bit earlier than expected.  

This area is very rocky.  The bottom is granite.  If you were to go aground here, it would be ugly.  As it was, it took us two tries to get our hook to set here.

Because of our early arrival, we had time to launch the dinghy and go on a tour of the area.  One of the first things we saw was that someone had built a nearly full-scale replica of Stone Hinge in their side yard.  Amazing!  Lots of houses with modern and other interesting architecture, as well.

We eventually went over to the Sachem Head Yacht Club, tied up to their dock (with their kind permission), and went for a walk around the neighborhood.  By now, it was quite warm, so after  we finished our walk, we were really thirsty.  The club had set out a big water cooler for their junior boaters and we nearly drained it!

Stephanie & Lance invited us over for happy hour after which, Ted and Lance fixed their windlass controller that had stopped working.  They bypassed an offending connector and just hot wired it to the boat to get it going, again.

Back on board Bottlenose and later in the evening, we had pulled pork barbecue, green beans, salad, and the trimmings.

Tomorrow, we head for Black Rock Harbor (near Bridgeport, CT).

Shelter Island

Wednesday, August 3:  It was a cool morning, with blue skies and wispy clouds and light winds.  We had a really short distance to go to get to Shelter Island’s Coecles Harbor, NY, so we just motored over.

One area of the channel leading in to our anchorage looked on the chart like it would be a little shallow for MerSea, so we went in first and radioed depth soundings to her as we went.  It turns out that there was depth to spare as we never saw less than 9 feet and MerSea draws only 4’ 9”.  Even allowing for the tide, this would be fine.

We invited Stephanie & Lance over for lunch on Bottlenose and had deli sandwiches, fruit, cookies, cool wine, and a nice visit with them.

In the early afternoon, we picked up Stephanie (Lance decided not to go) and dinghyed over to the marina and rented a bright yellow, four-passenger, all electric, smart car that looked like a overgrown golf cart.  It was the same price as renting four bikes and allowed us to see twice as much of the island in the time we had.

No pun intended, but “what a gas!”  We turned heads everywhere we went.  And, we saw pretty much the whole island in a couple of hours, including a stop in town for gelato.  Lots of water views and fine homes, many with lawn sculptures of sea monsters, dinosaurs, and other big animals.

We were just about to wrap up our tour, when the car started emitting this piercing alarm sound.  It was telling us that we were just about out of juice!

We immediately headed back toward the marina, but the car died just before the top of the last hill we had to climb to get there.  The rest was all down hill.  So, three of us got out of the car (Ted was driving) and started to push.  We felt so ridiculous that we all got the giggles and almost fell down laughing.

Nevertheless, we managed to get the car over that hill and literally coasted the rest of the way to the marina, right to the normal spot where they park this little jewel.  We advised the yard hand that came out to greet us that the car batteries might be a little low.

Back on the boat, we had a nice baked chicken breast stuffed with broccoli, wild rice, cheese, and herbs.  The rain showers that the weathermen predicted for today, finally arrived as we ate our dinner snug and dry in Bottlenose’s ample bridge deck saloon.

Tomorrow, we have a serious sail of over 35 miles to Joshua Cove, CT.

Sag Harbor

Tuesday, August 2:  We set out around 7:45 am from Watch Hill for Sag Harbor, NY.  It was a bright sunny, cool morning, with light N wind at around 5 to 10 kt.  As we sailed SW across Long Island Sound, the wind would come and go – sometimes allowing us to sail without the engines and sometimes dying away requiring us to motor sail. 

Our route, today, is only about 30 nautical miles, so we could afford to keep the engines off more than usual, when the wind was light.  We had a pleasant sail.

Compared to the weekend, the big difference today was that there were very few boats on the water.  We never saw more than a handful at one time – nothing like the zoo on Saturday and Sunday.  

Stephanie had reserved two mooring balls for us at Sag Harbor.  When we arrived in early afternoon, the dockmaster informed her that all the mooring balls inside the harbor were full, but there were some additional balls in an exposed area just outside the main harbor’s breakwater that we could have.  If the winds were strong, this location could have been very choppy and uncomfortable, but the winds today and tonight are expected to continue light, so we didn’t expect any problems.

Once we were securely tied up to the mooring ball, we dinghyed to shore and explored Sag Harbor on foot, with Stephanie & Lance.  We saw a lot of expensive cars, including a Bentley convertible and a Mazaratti.

By now the day felt hot – especially so, being on land and in the sun – so after our walking exploration, we stopped at an outdoor waterside bar for refreshments.  After cooling off a  little, we started looking for a nice place for dinner.  We decided on the Beacon.  It was expensive, but good.

We dinghyed back to MerSea for wine and dessert, while we watched a spectacular sunset.  A thin sliver of moon soon set, as well. 

Lay Day in Watch Hill

Monday, August 1:  We had a leisurely morning on the boat, then Stephanie’s friend took us in her SUV to the grocery and on a tour of Watch Hill.

After that, we continued to explore Watch Hill on foot.  Sheila checked out all the shops in town, then we climbed the hill to Ocean House, a huge, beautiful, fully restored classic hotel with great views of the Sound.  Sheila and I sat on one of their verandas and had a cold beverage, while looking out over the hotel’s gardens and the water, off in the distance.

We spent mid-afternoon relaxing on the boat, then picked up Stephanie & Lance in the dinghy and had happy hour with them in the Watch Hill YC upstairs bar.  The bar had a nice view of the harbor and we sat outside on the balcony with our drinks, watching a big storm brewing off in the distance.

At dinner time, we went over to the Bay Street Deli and got lobster rolls (the best in town!) to take back to Bottlenose for dinner.  We couldn’t decide which we liked best – the hot lobster roll sautéed in butter or the cold one mixed with mayonnaise.  The New England clam chowder was also excellent.  Add copious amounts of cool, white wine and cookies for dessert and it made a nice dinner aboard!  We were entertained by a spectacular show of lightning by that big storm.  Huge pitch forks of lightning would bolt across the sky, some spanning more than 90 degrees.  We never got any rain.

Watch Hill

Sunday, July 31:  We woke to a cool, crisp morning with light wind and blue skies.  It is supposed to get to the upper 80s later.  After breakfast, Ted went for a long swim over to a rock pile jutting out of the water near our boat, Sheila read a book, and I worked on my blog.

We have a short distance to go to meet up with Stephanie & Lance on MerSea at Watch Hill, RI, this afternoon, so we can afford to spend a leisurely morning here in Fisher’s Island harbor.

After lunch, we weighed the anchor and set out NE across Long Island Sound for Watch Hill.  The wind had come up from the south to about 12 kt and gave us a nice reach under sails, alone.  There were lots of boats in the Sound, going every direction imaginable.  We had to keep a sharp lookout for crossing situations.  We also had over a knot of following current, which helped us make good time.  It was a glorious day to be on the water.

Stephanie had arranged a mooring ball for us through the Watch Hill Yacht Club.  As we approached the harbor, we called the club on the VHF to get a mooring assignment.  In a few minutes, we were securely tied up to the mooring.

 

MerSea was moored just a few boats away from ours.  The next thing we knew, here comes Stephanie rowing over in her dinghy to welcome us to Watch Hill.  We invited her aboard and after chatting for a while, we spent a few minutes discussing our plans for the rest of this cruise together.

Stephanie said she had a friend that has a little cabana within sight of our boats and they had invited us over for happy hour at 5:30.  We considered this for about 2 seconds and quickly accepted this gracious invitation!

The cabana couldn’t have been more than eight feet wide, but had a great view of the ocean out the front and of the harbor with all the moored boats out the back.  We enjoyed meeting and chatting with Stephanie’s friends and the great happy hour spread they laid out for us.  While we were there, we looked out on the ocean side just before sunset and saw two large classic schooners going by under full sails. 

The three of us, plus Lance and Stephanie then went out to dinner at the Olympia Tea Room and had a nice time catching up on our separate journeys up to this point.

Fisher’s Island

Saturday, July 30:  We had a leisurely morning on the boat at Mystic, including a nice bacon and eggs breakfast and some boat cleaning and provisioning.  Then, at mid-morning, we set out in Long Island Sound for a fun sail “where the wind blows” as we had only a short distance to go to our next anchorage at Fisher’s Island, CT.

It is Saturday and there were a lot of boats out and about, both sail and power.  It was a beautiful day, with high in the upper 80s, blue skies with some clouds, and good wind.  We sailed around in the Sound for a while, dodging boats, throwing lots of tacks, and just having a good time.

As we were heading for Fisher’s Island harbor, a small piece of hardware fell to the deck with a loud clack from somewhere high in the rigging.  We could not tell where it came from and nothing bad happened, leaving us both puzzled and concerned.

We anchored out in the harbor, had lunch and went ashore to rent bikes at the Gold n Silver shop.  We rode all over the island and got some spectacular views of the Sound with all the boats and a lighthouse.

Had an early dinner on the outside patio of the Pequot Inn, then dropped our bikes off at the bike shop and walked back to the marina to dinghy back to the boat.

Back on board, Ted started investigating the source of the falling hardware and eventually found that it had come from one of the top-most slides that holds the main sail to the mast.  This was a great relief, because while important, this hardware could not have resulted in a major rigging failure.  We will all sleep better tonight, having fixed this problem.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to meet up with our cruise leaders, Stephanie & Lance, on their Jeanneau 37, MerSea, at Watch Hill, RI.  They are the only other boat on this cruise and they took the “inside” route, up the Chesapeake Bay, through the C&D canal, to Delaware Bay and points north.  This did require them to do an overnight sail to get past New Jersey.

Mystic On The Rocks

Friday, July 29:  We left Block Island this morning, headed for Mystic, CT.  We were well into the entrance channel to Mystic harbor and had already passed several marinas and large mooring fields, when we decided to drop our sails.  We picked a spot to turn out of the channel, so we could go head-to-wind and drop the main.

It was noon and we were going past a moored boat to then make our final turn into the wind, when…. CRUNCH!!!  We ran hard aground in the pebbly bottom!  Ugh!

We quickly sprang into action, launching the dinghy, getting the kedge anchor ready, and loading it into the dinghy.  Ted first took the kedge about 200 feet out on our starboard side and dropped it into the water.  Coleman and I wrapped the line around a winch and started bringing it in.  At first, the kedge seemed to have a good set in the bottom, as the line got really tight.  However, Bottlenose refused to budge, so we continued to crank on the winch.

While Bottlenose still didn’t budge, the kedge apparently broke free from the bottom as we cranked and it slid across the bottom without re-setting.  So, Ted hauled the kedge back into the dinghy and this time took it astern (the way we came in) and re-dropped it.  It got a good set and Coleman and I cranked the line in with the winch until the line was very tight, but Bottlenose seemed unimpressed with our effort.

Using the dinghy, Ted took a hand-held depth finder all around the boat to see where the deepest water was.  It was indeed behind us, so we knew the kedge was in the right location.

Next, Ted went for a swim to see how badly aground we were.  It was pretty bad.  The full length of both keels was solidly on the pebbly bottom and the bows were sitting a foot above their normal water line and getting higher out of the water with each passing minute.

We were at about half tide and it was falling.  Not a good situation.  Low tide was a little before 3 pm and the next high tide would be around 9 pm.  The tide range is only a little over 2 feet.  So, it could be 9 pm before we have our best chance of getting unstuck – and maybe not even then.  So, we prepared ourselves for a long afternoon on the boat to wait for the tide.

We called the Mystic Shipyard West marina where we had reserved a slip for the night, to tell them what happened and that we would be late.  The dockmaster said he would like to come over in his small powered barge (used to permanently anchor mooring balls) to see if he could get us free.  He couldn’t.

Now, today was the day that Coleman was going to leave Bottlenose and go home for a week to take care of a prior commitment.  He had talked my wife, Sheila, into driving his truck here to Mystic and then trading places with him on Bottlenose, while he drove home in the truck.  Sheila was arriving in Mystic, about the time we ran aground, so we called her as soon as we could to advise her of our predicament.

Before the dockmaster left us, Coleman asked him if he would take him back to the marina on the barge to meet Sheila.  He agreed.

Once on shore, Coleman drove with Sheila closer to where Bottlenose was aground.  Then, Ted went to shore in the dinghy to get Sheila with her bags and brought her back to the boat, so Coleman could go ahead and take off for home in his truck.  As it was, he would be getting home late, if he drove straight through.

Ted and I welcomed Sheila to Bottlenose and she got settled in, while we continued to wait for the tide.

Around 4:30, the boat started to bob a little in the building chop of the harbor and at 5:00 it broke free!  We quickly got the engines started, because we were drifting toward a moored boat, and were careful to retrieve the kedge anchor and rode in a way that prevented the rode from getting tangled in the propellers.

We were thrilled that we got off so early, now we can go to our marina and have dinner ashore at the Captain Daniel Packer Inne. 

Back at the boat after dinner, Ted and I sat up til midnight talking about everything under the sun and solving all the world’s problems.