Warwick, RI - September 20-26, 2011

This past week we have not traveled much, but we have gotten many things done.  Based on the friendliness of the staff and the lower-than-most-in-the-area pricing, I picked a yard for Kelly IV to spend the winter.  She will be on jackstands in Warwick, Rhode Island until spring commissioning.

In her Warwick slip, Kelly is ready for decommisioning

In preparation for the haulout, I unbent the mainsail and genoa, then removed the boom and stowed it on deck.  All the halyards were tied off to the mast, so the mast is ready for the yard to step and store it.  I rigged the whisker pole as a crane and used the 6:1 block and tackle to raise the pudgy dinghy onto the foredeck, where it was placed over the forward hatch and forward portlight on the starboard side, but leaving the solar vent on the forward port side exposed to the sun.  The vents can then run all winter on just their own solar power.

Solar vent exposed to the sun

My biggest personal achievement of the entire cruise took place when I started the engine on Friday morning.  It ran perfectly.  The achievement was that on Thursday, dressed in my rattiest clothing, I removed the companionway steps, cleared out the starboard lazarette, dug out my wrenches, and proceeded to perform the maintenance required to de-commission the motor for the winter.

For those of you that know me and my lack of mechanical skills or expertise, you may pick yourselves off the floor and read on, but be prepared . . . I had no mechanic on board at any time!

Yanmar survived winterizing by Murph!

The maintenance to be done included changing the engine oil, the transmission oil, cleaning the air filter, changing the primary (Racor) fuel filter and the secondary fuel filter.  And the latter two changes require bleeding of the fuel lines, a job I've watched a few times, but never done for myself.

A typical diesel mechanic might spend an hour to do these jobs, but I felt it best to take my time and be sure I was doing the right things at the right time.  Even so, things were a little messy, like when I didn't think to shut off the fuel flow from the tanks when I first unscrewed the primary fuel filter.  I had thought to place a bucket and absorbent rags below the filter, so the fuel was caught before going into the bilge, but the bucket collected a quart or so of diesel before I got the fuel line shut off properly.  Overall, the engine de-commissioning took me about 5 hours to complete, including cleaning up the mess I created.

On Friday morning, with the motor purring in its normal manner, Kelly IV and I settled into the well at the Brewer yacht yard for the haulout.  The travelift moved out over Kelly and the yard workers adjusted the large canvas straps into the proper spots just fore and aft of the keel.  When they raised the straps, the canvas fit exactly under Kelly as they are supposed to and Kelly came up and out of the water.

Kelly's lines out to dry

Once they pressure washed the entire bottom to clean off the algae (thankfully, no barnacles!), the travelift rolled over the yard to the location where Kelly will spend the winter.  They placed wooden blocks under her keel and propped her upright with 7 jackstands.  For those new to the keelboat storage game, the boat's entire weight (12,000 pounds in Kelly's case) rests on the keel.  The boat's cradle or jackstands (in Kelly's case) exist only to keep the boat upright.  The keel is designed to take the full weight of the boat, so this all works quire well.

Once “on the hard” I began the process of winterizing the boat.  Earlier, I had used the fresh water hose and rinsed all the docklines and running rigging while we were still tied in the dock.  With a relatively dry day forecast, I could lay out the lines so they would dry.  Once dried, they were stored down below, out of the weather.  For lines that can't go below, I cover them with plastic bags to keep the weather off them, as much as possible.

All the gear that was stowed inside the dinghy's hull was removed, dried, and stowed down below on Kelly IV, where the gear can remain dry for the winter.  This gear includes the cover, sail, sail bag, boom, gaff, mast, sheet, websteps, oars, pump, and lifeboat exposure canopies.  While stowed upside down on the foredeck, the four inside inspection ports to the dinghy's hull are left open so the inside of the hull can air out through the winter.

Since the solar panels are not easily removable due to the wiring, I did rig them so they will drain off rain and snow and tied them down so heavy winds will not displace them.

Solar panels secured for the winter

Yesterday, in preparation for the biggest winter project, I spent much of the day measuring every point on the dodger and bimini that I could think of.  The project is to build a complete enclosure for the cockpit.  This will keep rain and bugs out, but let breezes through.  It is a big job, but if I'd done this before, the sailing in the rain would have been much more comfortable.  Also, rainy days at anchor would have included the option to sit in the cockpit, yet remain dry.  In the evening when bugs were biting, a cockpit enclosure would have enabled us to eat our meals in the glowing susnsets without sharing the meal with our six-legged friends.

There is a lot of gear that I plan to take home, but I'll need my own vehicle to do that.  I'm taking the train home and have no room for any gear I can't carry with me.  I expect to drive back in a few days to complete the de-commissioning and remove the last of the gear for the winter.

Kelly IV has a new home for the winter and I now return to my home.

Jamestown, Warwick, RI - September 14-19, 2011

Kip and I spent Wednesday doing chores, but somehow, laundry and shopping seem more exotic activities when you include dinghying to shore and hiking to the laundry, grocery and library.

Thursday night's forecast was for rain and a strong northwest wind.  Dutch Harbor is open to the northwest so we expected the anchorage would be rolly and uncomfortable in the northwesterly.  As we checked out our options, we decided to move Kelly IV to Warwick Cove about two hours sail to the north in Greenwich Bay.

Storm in Narraganset Bay

We departed Dutch Harbor in bright sunshine, but we could see clouds building to the north, exactly where our course was taking us.  We saw some ugly clouds and had rain dousing us for half an hour, but all cleared up as we entered Warwick Cove and picked up our mooring.  This was the first time we've tied up to a double mooring, one at the bow, the other at the stern.  Our mooring at the far end of the Cove and despite the overnight wind and rain, the tight little cove provided flat, calm waters and a comfortable night sleeping.

Double mooring in Warwick, RI

Another reason to sail Kelly to Warwick was to provide a good departure point for Kip.  Kip has been crewing with us and did a great job, but now was a good time for him to resume his life ashore.  Friday morning, Kip gathered his gear and we set him ashore so he could walk to the nearest bus stop.

Among my Wednesday chores was calling many of the marinas and boat yards around Narragansett Bay.  My search was narrowed to a couple yards on Warwick Cove, so I took the opportunity to meet the folks in person and decide on a yard to store Kelly for the winter.  The Brewer Yard had some attractive deals, so I decided to store Kelly there.

Saturday morning Kelly and I departed Warwick Cove and motored south in a light easterly breeze.  The light breeze was too little to set the sails but the short distance made the trip a quick one.  We set our hook at the same spot as a few days earlier and took the pudgy dinghy into shore.  I decided the passenger ferry would be a fun way to get to Newport for the boat show and enjoyed seeing the sights from the water, including a fleet of the new New York Yacht Club Swan 42s that seemed to be returning from a race.

Jamestown Harbor

I walked the boat show, chatting with a number of folks at the various booths and wandered by the many new sail and power boats on display.  After the show Eric Stone's Band and the magazine Latitudes & Attitudes hosted a pizza and beer party for anyone who wanted to attend.  It was great to see and chat with many of the folks I had just met.

After the party I caught the return ferry and ogled the superyachts along the way, including Mirabella V.  I decided to stop at the Portuguese-American Club in Jamestown.  It is along the walk back to the dinghy and Kip and I found the local folks there to be very friendly.  This time I found myself engaged in a wonderful conversation with Mark and Ann of Jamestown.

Portland Pudgy sighted near "Silver Shalis"

Sunday morning, after taking the trusty dinghy ashore, I enjoyed my breakfast at the waterfront deli then caught the ferry into Newport again.  From the ferry I snapped a photo of the Silver Shalis, the large yacht Kelly IV and I tied up next to in the St. Peters canal, Nova Scotia.  I met more sailing folks including some blue water cruisers from the Seven Seas Cruising Association.  I had joined the SSCA last winter, but didn't see any fellow members on this cruise until the Newport Boat Show.

Eddie and Murph with the megayachts

Eddie on the pier with "Mirabella V", the world's largest sloop

After the show I had dinner with a college fraternity brother who drove two hours from Cape Cod to visit me in Newport.  It was terrific to spend the time and enjoy catching up with Ed.  After our dinner we walked the docks where the megayachts were tied up and enjoyed the beauty and magnificent splendor of these huge private yachts.

Monday morning I pulled up the anchor and we motored back north to Warwick Cove and tied up in our new slip for the balance of the season.  Kelly IV and I have now ended our cruising until next summer 2012.

Here are some points of interest about this year's cruise:

• Total nautical miles underway:  2514
• Erie, PA to Toronto, ON Crew:  Jack vanArsdale, James Clark (135.2 nm)
• Kingston, ON to Tadoussac, QC Crew:  Ray (528.9 nm)
• Quebec City, QC to Tadoussac, QC Crew:  Ed (193.2 nm)
• Rimouski, QC to Riviere au Renard, QC Crew: Kris Bjornstad (202.5 nm)
• Portland, ME to Warwick, RI Crew:  Kip Martin (261.4 nm)
• Longest single leg:  123 nm, L'Anse a Beaufils,Quebec to Richibucto, New Brunswick
• Distance with Crew:  1,128 nm
• Distance Singlehanded:  1386 nm
• Most Challenging Leg:  St. Peter's to Portage Cove
• Serious concern about sinking:  Liscombe River
• Most impressive neighboring boat:  Niagara, Erie, PA
• Largest neighboring yacht:  Silver Shalis, St. Peters Canal, Nova Scotia
• Most impressive whale sighting:  Saguenay River and St. Lawrence River
• Sea life observed underway:  whales, dolphins, sea turtles, seals, seabirds, clams, jellyfish, sea stars

Kelly IV and I have now cruised 2514 nautical miles from Erie, PA.

Scituate, Sandwich, Cuttyhunk MA, Newport RI - September 8-13, 2011

Although the weather was better on Thursday, the rain, breeze and clouds made it hard to believe.  The improvement was smaller waves and less boisterous gusts.  The breeze was north and east so it was behind the beam and we left Rockport with hopes for the forecast to improve as the day wore on.

Kip, Kelly and I were sailing in company with Windeva, a Cheoy Lee ketch with wooden masts out of Falmouth, Maine.  Her skipper was sailing solo to Scituate, Massachusetts, so we departed at the same time and stayed within sight of each other for the entire day.  For the first several miles it was a challenge to stay visible to each other as the visibility through the gray haze and patchy fog was a mile or less.

Windeva

The waves north of Cape Ann crashed noisily past us as we forced our way through them for the first hour, but then our course took us south and the course turn put the waves on our stern so we could surf them across Massachusetts Bay.

The rain was steady and heavy until the clouds thinned enough to see a lighter gray sky, but no sun, in the early afternoon.  We could make out our destination, a lighthouse standing proud at the entrance to Scituate Harbor.  On this day, the closer we approached, the less we could see the lighthouse!  The fog was returning and threatening to make the harbor entrance a challenge to enter.

Fortunately, visibility was never less than half a mile which was plenty to make out the red and green buoys to follow them into the harbor.  We topped off our diesel and water, then picked up a mooring for the night.

Kelly IV in Scituate Harbor

The next morning the fog returned with a vengence and we could see no more than a quarter mile for the entire morning.  We saw a sailboat and a couple lobster boats sneak past us in the dim gray haze, but no whales despite Cape Cod Bay being known for great whale watching.

Two hours out from Sandwich, the skies cleared and the wind filled in so we sailed (no motor!) the balance of the day, jibing our way to the eastern entrance of the Cape Cod Canal.  The marina was filled with commercial fishing boats and charters and only a few sailboats.

Sandwich, MA dock

In Sandwich, our dockmate was a Frenchman from St. Pierre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon), the island off the coast of Newfoundland that is still part of France.  The three of us joined the crew from Dragon's Wing, a steel, junk-rigged sailboat that I had moored next to in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, for a drink and lots of great conversation and camaraderie.

The next morning was a great sailing day, bursting bright and sunny over us.  Kip and I waited for the tide to turn so Kelly IV could ride the favorable current through the canal.  With the strong current carrying us quickly to the southwest, we were through the canal in just over an hour!  We made great time seeing our speed over ground exceed 8 knots for much of the canal.

Running wing & wing down Buzzard's Bay

The breeze was aft of the beam so we set the main and genoa wing and wing, shut off the engine (yea!) and spent the entire run to Cuttyhunk Island under sail.  We found ourselves heading southwest parallel to another sailboat just a mile away.  As many of you know, when two sailboats are headed the same direction you have what we call . . . “a Race!”  We had a reef in Kelly's mainsail, but only because we had seen a small tear in the sail that we did not want turning into a large tear. Our competitor had full main and jib so it seemed the other guy might win our “race”.  Then we rigged the whisker pole which pumped our speed by a full knot or more and we slowly but decisively pressed our advantage and left our parallel sailboat behind us.

Our "competition" on Buzzard's Bay

Cuttyhunk is a very rural island with 200 seasonal and 20 year around residents.  We dinghied ashore for a brief walk, but took a detour when we were hailed by a sailing couple who had questions about our bright yellow Portland Pudgy.  They invited us aboard from drinks and conversation which Kip and I enjoyed.  When it was clear that twilight might keep us from our walk ashore, we climbed back into our dinghy and continued to the island.  Once ashore, we walked across the island and viewed Martha's Vineyard from the eastern shore, then returned to Kelly to watch the evening's entertainment.  An unattended anchored sailboat dragged and banged into an anchored  cruising trawler before the harbormaster got control of her.  We were on a mooring a couple hundred yards away and were too far away to help, but within view of much of the activity.

Cuttyhunk Harbor

Amazingly, the next morning proved to be another terrific day of sailing.  The wind had clocked to the east, but now our course took us west, so we sailed downwind jibing the mainsail from wing and wing to a port tack run.  We were again swinging the whisker pole to keep the genny filled as Kelly bounded before the following waves towards Newport, Rhode Island.

It was clear we were headed to sailing's Mecca, as we passed more sailboats, sailboat races, and pleasure craft on the water than Kelly and I had seen all summer.  While there were lots of sailboats in Maine, especially Southwest Harbor, the number of boats actually out sailing was much greater in Rhode Island.

Kip and I turned Kelly north along the west side of Conanicut Island, Jamestown, Rhode Island.  Once inside Dutch Island we dropped the hook in Dutch Harbor for the week.  We planned to visit Newport and the Newport International Boat Show (NIBS) and doing so from our own vessel, anchored for free, was great!

Kelly IV at anchor at Dutch Harbor

The NIBS takes place over the weekend, September 15 – 18.  Kip and I took the bus to Newport and played tourist, walking the docks as the boats were being jostled into place amongst the temporary docks set up for the show.  Later in the day, the International Yacht Restoration School (http://www.iyrs.org/) provoked our interest when we took advantage of their workshop, set up so visitors could take in the wonderful aroma of wood being worked and shaped as the craftsmen restored the wooden yachts.

I have decided that Narragansett Bay will be the end of our cruising for this year.  I spent much of today calling boatyards and viewing websites to select a yard for Kelly IV to spend the winter.  We'll schedule her haulout for next week and spend several days getting her decommissioned so she weathers the cold New England winter and is ready to continue our cruise again next summer.

Kelly IV and I have now cruised 2477 nautical miles from Erie, PA.

Portland, York Harbor, ME, Rockport, MA - September 3-7, 2011

After sailing Kelly IV 1135 nautical miles solo, Kelly and I have crew!  Kip Martin joined Kelly's crew in Portland arriving on board Friday afternoon.  Kip got a thorough walk around to get the layout and safety details, then left to do some shopping for groceries.  I did our route planning for the next few legs, plotting waypoints and routes for us to safely make our way into Massachusetts.

Kip hiked the groceries to Kelly over two miles, round trip.  I stowed the food while he settled his gear into the bunk and spaces allotted to him.  We had dinner and chatted, then climbed into our bunks for the night.

About 5:30am, the dawn light woke me so we got ready for an early departure.  The forecast was calling for wind and waves to be directly on our nose and that they would build through the day.  Our plan was to sail early while things were more calm and beat the rougher afternoon weather to port.  We only had about 9 hours at cruising speed to travel, and the plan has worked in the past, so we dropped the mooring and were off.

USCG protects Portland-bound cruise ship

Our departure was noteworthy as we passed a large cruise ship and her accompanying two 50 caliber machine gun Coast Guard escorts as they were entering Portland Harbor.  Kip also sighted a seal and commented on the large number of lobster pots.  As we gained the open sea, we found the breeze was already 10 knots or more and the waves were consistently 4 feet or more.  With these two forces pressing us in the face, Kelly was making about 3 knots velocity made good.  Then the wind and waves began to increase which knocked our speed to around 2 – 2.5 knots.  At that point, I decided to turn around and return to Portland.  If the forecast was correct about the weather getting windier and wavier (is that a word?) directly in our face, then we'd never make our next harbor by nightfall.

Tug and barge

After we turned around and had the wind and waves at our back and quarter, the ride was smoother and we raised our sails and killed the engine.  It was a fine day for sailing, just not the direction we needed to sail.  Then I noticed that in earlier our bouncing around, we knocked loose another solar panel support, like what happened in the storm sailing out of St. Peters, Nova Scotia.  Apparently, I did not fix all the weak points and the last one failed in the rocking seas.

We dodged unforecasted rain as we picked up our mooring, then repaired the loose support.  Of course, the repair involved hanging out over the stern of the boat, so if any parts were dropped they'd immediately be lost to Neptune.  Thankfully Neptune didn't take anything from us that day.

As the morning wore on, we saw the day unfold with light winds, finally building to about 10 knots in the afternoon.  Since it was too late to restart and make our destination, we decided to enjoy a daysail in Portland Harbor, just sailing Kelly IV back and forth with the other weekend sailors and wooden charter boats.  It proved to be a wonderful time just relaxing and literally showing Kip the ropes.  As a former dinghy sailor, he picked up the nuances of sailing Kelly IV quickly and was tacking smoothly as we dodged the harbor traffic and lobster pots.

Lobster boat using a riding sail

On Sunday morning, we dropped our Portland mooring making our second departure, and this time we really made the trip!  It was clear as we exited the harbor, but then the fog rolled in and our view dropped to less than 1/4 mile.  For several hours we motored through calm but patchy fog, occasionally  seeing a freighter or lobster boats a mile or so away, then entering another patch of fog and passing a buoy by only a couple hundred yards and never seeing it, except on radar.

Lobster boat working their port side, most work to starboard

As noon approached, the fog cleared and the sun ruled the rest of the day.  The breeze also gradually filled in, first from the southwest (directly on Kelly's bow), then sliding off to the south.  We were able to gain a few tenths of a knot in speed by motorsailing with our mainsail up and we gained a few more tenths of a knot as the wind strengthened and became more southerly.

Kip sighted a fin whale just a hundred feet off our starboard bow and again only 50 feet off our port beam.  The thrill was terrific as we smiled and laughed about the very cool experience of seeing the whale up close and personal.

Cape Neddick Nubble

10 miles from our destination, York Harbor, I saw what appeared to be a city skyline many miles away off our starboard bow.  A mile later, I realized it was the interesting outline of the Cape Neddick Nubble.  This is a small rocky outcrop of an island with a lighthouse and keeper's house, just off Cape Neddick.  With the rocks, lighthouse, and keeper's house all scratching distinct lines against the afternoon sky, the outline of their features first appeared to me as a distant city skyline.

As we approached York River, the harbor entrance, we found ourselves sailing amongst several other sailboats enjoying the southwest breeze for a boisterous sail in the 3 – 5 feet waves, including a small laser, just like the ones Kip used to sail.

Monday, September 5 was sunny and beautiful, but the forecast called for southwesterlies up to 20+ knots and waves 3-5 feet all of which would make for an uncomfortable bash motoring south.  Instead we relaxed in port, doing some minor boat work, laundry and route planning.  Our entertainment for the day was to rig the sailing gear on the Portland Pudgy and we sailed up the York River, with the flood tide until we had to drop the mast at a low bridge.

York Harbor, Maine

We continued our exploration of the river, as massive summer homes peered at us over the evergreen treetops.  When the tide turned, we rode the ebb back down to Kelly.

Our trip to Rockport, Massachusetts began in the morning as we dropped the mooring and motored out of the harbor on the first of the ebb current.  Although the day was a little rainy and gray, the wind was a favorable northerly with the 2 – 4 feet waves rolling us gently on our way.

We passed east of the Isles of Shoals, a group of islands about 6 nautical miles southeast of Portsmouth, NH.  The waves crashed ashore only a half mile from us and that was our closest approach to the state of New Hampshire.

Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire

Although the lobster pots were less evident on this leg they were still a nautical hazard to be dealt with so Kip & I took turns as lookout or helmsman, working to avoid them successfully.  We also steered clear of a fishing trawler with her outriggers and nets working her gear, but she was much easier to see than the brightly colored, but frequently obscured lobster pots.

We tied up at a 2-boat floating dock, moored just off the wharf in Rockport Harbor, and met our neighbors on the dock.  Steve and his daughter had sailed to Rockport from Newburyport the day before against the wind and waves that Kip and I avoided.  They said it was a rough, uncomfortable sail.

Windeva and Kelly IV at their two-boat mooring

The rain forecasted for Wednesday convinced us to stay in port, especially as Hurricane Katia is now predicted to turn sharply northeast and far away from us in Massachusetts.  This means the weather will improve over the next few days.  We are using the engine to recharge the batteries, as the gray, rainy, shorter day is limiting the power from the solar panels.  I'll use the power to update the website, as we have good internet access from the boat.

Kelly IV and I have now travelled over 2349 nautical miles from Erie, PA.

Boothbay, Portland, ME - August 31-September 2, 2011

The family operated marina in Rockland works hard and does a great job.  They splashed Kelly on Tuesday so as soon as I awoke on Wednesday, we dropped our mooring and motored across the sunrise out of Penobscot Bay.

Rockland sunrise

 It was a beautiful day with a cool beginning so I was wearing my sweater as I have most of this trip.

The day went by quickly as I dodged the uncountable lobster pot buoys.  As the day warmed up, I basked in the sunshine, enjoying views of the working lobster boats, a few large yachts and even a few dolphins and a seal.

We passed by Allen Island and a Black and Gold lobster pot, I've dubbed the “Pittsburgh Pot”.

Kelly and I steered northwest sailing past two lighthouses to Boothbay Harbor.  The slight southwest breeze gave us a lift into the harbor as we sailed past two Maine schooners.  Boothbay harbor was chock full of moorings.  With no space to anchor, we picked up a mooring and dinghied in to do a little laundry and meet the locals.

Ram Island Lighthouse at Boothbay Harbor

Kelly IV on her mooring in Boothbay Harbor

Portland was only 32 miles away, so we didn't leave until after 7am and raised the sails as we were leaving Boothbay Harbor.  The easterly breeze was from a favorable direction, given our southwesterly course, but only blowing about 6 knots.  With full genny and mainsail Kelly could only make about 2 – 3 knots, so we motor sailed to Portland, the breeze adding a little help.
We passed by a number of working lobster boats again, just as we have all along the Maine coast.  The lobster boats haul the traps up on their starboard side, but I have seen two (out of several hundred) that were rigged to haul their pots on the port side.

Lobster boat working his port side

Another infrequently seen lobster boat rig included one using a riding sail.  Many boats use them at anchor to reduce the lateral motion and keep their boats pointed calmly into the breeze.  I suppose the sail stabilizes the working lobster boat in the same way.

Lobster boat with riding sail

For several hours a large freighter sat on the distant horizon, slowly and gradually getting larger, but never changing its bearing from Kelly.  The sailors among you will recognize the classic notice for a potential collision.  As Kelly and I steered into the harbor at Portland, so did an extremely large blue tanker.  Three tugs maneuvered the humongous vessel through a 90 degree turn and slipped her into the dock a smooth as you like.

Portland Yacht Services mooring

A few minutes later I picked up the mooring at Portland Yacht Services, across the harbor from the blue behemoth.  I changed the engine oil and filter, but had a mechanic check my work and walk me through a number of questions I had about the Yanmar motor.  I learned a number of things about maintenance that should keep the new engine running smoothly.

Kelly IV and I have now traveled over 2254 nautical miles from Erie, PA.