Exploring the islands

The bikes were perfect for riding all over Block Island.  The original South-East Lighthouse was moved back several hundred feet in 1993 to prevent it from succumbing to erosion of the shoreline.

We met a very enterprising young gal selling lemonade along the way.  She and her grandfather built this collapsing wheeled cart so she could easily carry it on the ferry when she comes to visit from her Connecticut home.  It folds flat.  We had much in common with her cart and our bikes, both compacting down to fit in a small space.

Riding took us the six miles from one end of Block Island to the other where we had a windy mile beach walk to the older North lighthouse on Block Island high on the sand dunes built in 1867.

 
With fog predicted to burn off we decided to depart Block Island and use the strong southwest winds to take us to the southern most of the Elizabeth Islands, Cuttyhunk.  It was a good opportunity to test our new radar and our skills. Our VHF radio allowed us to set up an automatic sounding foghorn to bellow every two minutes using an extra speaker we brought along and put outside on the deck.  This alerted other vessels to our presence even though they could not visually see us.

Cuttyhunk is described in the cruising guides as the destination good for doing nothing - just relax and fish.  There are good trails to walk the little village and beaches.  This little church with its door always open and the fish wind vane on the roof was very welcoming.  It serves all denominations with services for each at different times and welcomes anyone anytime. Very functional part of their community - great idea of all working together!

We sailed on to anchor in Hadley Harbor which surrounds Bull Island not far from Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Everyone who comes to these islands uses a ferry, a small airplane or a private vessel like we did. The islands have been fun to explore.

Off to Cape May, NJ and on to Block Island, RI

Rain stopped and clouds cleared for a picturesque ride east on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal on Wed. morning.  No boat traffic and no people fishing or walking along the canal until look who appeared....

Joan and Bill were "lying in wait" along the canal to surprise us with a wave goodbye.  They are working on boat projects of their own.We hope they are back on the water before we return.

We turned right at Reedy Point and had a quick sail with tide and wind speeding us down the Delaware River meeting ships and passing the Salem Nuclear Plant.

We followed the Cape Henlopen Ferry as it docked on the New Jersey side when we entered the Cape May Canal.  Anchored in the Harbor Wed. night by the Coast Guard Station with about a dozen other cruisers for the night.  They all left in the morning but we stayed to enjoy Cape May.

Sailing friends, Carol and Bob, lent us their fold-able compact bikes for our trip.  Riding the five miles to downtown, the beach/boardwalk and on to the Cape May Lighthouse seemed like a great time to try the bikes.

Carol and Bob call them their "circus bikes" because the wheels are small diameter and they look different than regular bikes.  However, they are unique and definitely fit in a small space compared to a regular bike.  They also are real conversation pieces; many people commented or wanted to know how they work. We can say they ride very smooth and are easy to use.  Thanks, Bob and Carol!

You can just see the Cape May Lighthouse in the background above but it is another four miles or so to get there from this beach area. The bikes made it an enjoyable ride.

 After a ride to Mike's Dock for lunch and purchasing some romaine and spinach from the downtown Acme, we rode the bikes back to our dinghy and returned to Priority. Great day for visiting Cape May and getting some exercise, too.

After checking the weather again, Thursday through Saturday afternoon looked like clear weather with southern breezes - just what we needed to sail north to Block Island. We knew the distance of 240 miles would take us about 40 hours traveling at 6kts and knew we wanted to arrive in early morning. So we made the preparations for sea travel and departed about 4:30PM on Thursday afternoon out the Cape May Inlet.  Nightfall off Atlantic City was lit brightly with all the casino lights along the shore.

"Red skies at night are a sailor's delight" proved to be true for us.  We sailed through to anchor in Great Salt Pond inside Block Island, RI on Sat. morning.  Smooth sailing, sunny days, bright waxing gibbous moon cool nights and we saw our first whales in between the shipping lanes off of New York.  We were sailing so it was quiet enough for us to hear them expelling air through their blowholes. They were about 300' away from our boat. How exciting for us -two large whales just making their way northward!

New England - here we come!

Returning from our Bahamas trip, we worked at the do-be list of projects, lots of little ones that make life aboard more comfortable and efficient. There have also been larger projects.

Adding radar was a major step for us but necessary as we planned to travel north in foggy areas.  Jay researched to find the best system for Priority.  Mounting the round unit just below the spreaders turned out to be the best location.

A new Chartplotter to show charts and coordinate the radar display took more research. 

Learning how to read what the chartplotter showed included a steep learning curve but time and experience has built our confidence. Figuring out what all those pink blobs picked up by the radar unit and displayed over our chart  is a difficult job sometimes.

We installed a new autopilot which attaches to our steering quadrant under the cockpit. 

When set for a specific heading, the autopilot makes the boat hold a steady true course better than our older smaller autopilot that attached directly to our steering wheel.  Of course, we still keep a sharp lookout but it helps to have an extra pair of hands sometimes.

A winter basement rebuild of our boat engine and transmission left Jay knowing much more about every nut and bolt he dismantled and reassembled.

A Chesapeake Bay sea trial trip in early May left us feeling success with all of these projects.  Even new side rain flaps we made that zip and tie to the canvas we already had have been tested several times.

The side flaps keep rain from splashing down into the cabin hatch opening.  It is much drier below deck and we feel more fresh air when we are able to keep the hatch open during rainy times.

We are happy to have these successful projects completed and want to try them out as we take a trip northward along the coastline.  In July 1989 our family of four took Priority to explore Block Island, Marthas Vineyad, Nantucket, CuttyHunk, Long Island and the Newport area.  Andy was almost 12 and Amy was almost 5 years old as we passed by the Statue of Liberty.  Lots of happy memories!

This will be a very different trip for just the two of us with all of these new pieces of equipment and tools to help us.  We are excited to explore these places and hope to go farther north to Maine.

Today (June 18th) we said goodbye to Tom and Marge who gave us a car ride to the boat. 
Norma is saying " We better take this photo quick.  Do you see those clouds behind us?"  In between rain showers we left the dock and traveled with tugs and a auto carrier ship in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal.  

We anchored in the harbor at Chesapeake City, MD with the bridge in view.  Rain flaps are doing a great job as showers continue.  We plan to leave in the morning and travel with the current down the Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ.