Home Again!

It was a rather quick trip from Cape May to Freeport. We left Cape May, New Jersey on May 15th and 49 hours and 291 nautical miles later we were at anchor in Onset Massachusetts. We had great sailing for the first day but then the fog rolled in and the winds died for most of the second so we had to motor sail. About 4:30 pm we heard a squealing sound from the engine room.The alternator had seized up and refused to turn. We had to shut the engine down in order not  to overheat because the belt that drives the alternator also drives the water pump. Fortunately we had a spare unit but it was internally regulated and the one that died uses an external one. After doing some research in the onboard library, I was able to build a new wiring hook up for the spare alternator and after a couple of hours had everything up and running again. It was a calm as a millpond in Onset harbor and we had a well deserved full night's sleep.

The next stop after passing through the Cape Cod Canal was Provincetown at the end of Cape Cod. We arrived early enough to go shore and explore the town and tour the Pilgrim Monument and the Provincetown Museum. The Pilgrims first landed at P-town before landing at Plymouth. They signed the Mayflower Compact in the Harbor and stayed a week or so before moving on.

Pilgrim Monument in P-town

We left Provincetown at first light the next day and set a course for the Isles of Shoals right on the New Hampshire- Maine Border. About 6 miles from the end of the Cape we had the greeting committee meet us and welcome us back to the Gulf of Maine. There were more whales than I have ever seen in one place! It was not uncommon to see three spouting at the same time they were frolicking about for over a hour and we estimated about 30 to 50 whales were in the group. They were mostly finbacks about 60 or so feet long and thankfully did not get much closer that 50 yards with most of them staying about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. Dave who was sailing with me and spent 7 years living or board and cruising from the Chesapeake to the West Indies had never seen so many at once either. It was an amazing morning to say the least. We arrived at the Isles of Shoals where we spent the night at a mooring in the harbor.

 Anxious to get home, we again left early in the morning and pulled into Freeport Harbor about 4PM on the 20th. It was a round trip of 3718 miles; we certainly enjoyed the journey and hope to sail south again next winter. It is great to be back in Maine and we are looking forward to a summer cruising our in our home waters and spending some time in our favorite local spots.

Coinjock to Cape May

We left Coinjock, NC and headed to Norfolk, VA. In order to pass through this bustling city, we had to pass through various highway and railroad bridges that all open on their own schedules. It takes good planning and  bit of luck to make it through in a timely fashion. Oh, and did I mention we has to pass through a set of locks too? They are used to equalize the water level between the Chesapeake Bay and the Inter-coastal Waterway. We make it through all except the last two bridges and stopped for the night at a place called the Top Rack Marina.They specialize in racking boats in a huge warehouse and putting them in the water when the owner wants to use them. This outfit is very friendly to transients such as ourselves and offers a free dock for an overnight stay if you have dinner at their restaurant. After a long day, this suited us just fine! We left in the morning for Little Creek, Va.; a convenient place to get fuel and leave for the overnight to Cape May.
There we met some friends from Maine who were coming back from Key West and had lots of laughs getting caught up on our adventures. They were heading to Cape May as well but were having battery problems so were staying a few more days to get them sorted out. We started out early for Cape May and had some nice sailing, using the spinnaker during the day and taking it down at dusk. As we took it down, we began to hear a solitary loon singing and we were about 12 miles out to sea! We heard more of them during the night keeping in touch with each other as we sailed along.
Morning brought a beautiful sunrise with a little to much red for my liking and we arrived and had the anchor set by noon. There is some rain and higher wind and waves in the forecast so we will probable stay here a few days before heading off to Block Island or thereabouts.

Charleston SC to Coinjock NC

Our vacation is over and now the return trip to Maine for the summer has begun. My sailing buddy Dave and I left Charleston, SC on May 3rd and did an overnight to Carolina Beach, just inside of Cape Fear. We have been inside ever since stopping at Swansboro, Cedar Creek, Pungo Creek and Deep Point on the Alligator River before arriving in Coinjock. Midway Marina there is the first one we have stayed at since leaving Charleston. I've traveled the Alligator river twice now and have not seen even one alligator; there are plenty of turtles though.We had been anchoring out in the wilds of NC where there are no lights visible at night and no cell phone service. There are a few other boaters but the annual migration north has yet to begin in earnest. The next stop will be Norfolk VA or thereabouts at the end of the Inter-coastal Waterway. It is nice to stop and walk on land, do laundry and get back in touch with folks again. We should have a few more days of this until we head offshore, outside of Maryland and New Jersey, weather permitting.