Atlantic City and Chesapeake

Bill, Mary Beth Lambert and Paul Shumway, who Bill knows from tennis, ducked into Atlantic City after a long, cold night sailing into near gale winds. They stayed fairly cozy with the detachable cockpit sides installed, but it was an uncomfortable night. Several other sailboats also came into port that night because of the weather, and some were damaged. Act III didn't blink a spreader...it was the crew who wimped out. (I'm not there, so I can throw down the challenges.)

After a day's rest and just a little gambling for Paul--I heard he was only down $2.50--they had a nice sail to Cape May for a night, then onto Delaware City. Paul slowed the ride up Delaware Bay by catching a couple of nice bluefish, which he filleted live and grilled on the barbie when they got to port. The crew found the bottle of Meyers rum and the bottle of wine I had secreted aboard, and had a fine meal in mild-ish weather.

The plan is to leave Delaware City tomorrow (Weds. 11/11) and anchor in the Sassafras River near the top of Chesapeake Bay. Then an easy sail puts them in Baltimore the next day, where Paul and Mary Beth will head back to their car in NYC, and Bill will wait for me to arrive next week. (11/19). I'm grateful for my friend Susan (also the fabulous lead in our quartet, Sound Investment) whose sister lives in the Baltimore area, as she'll drive me there and visit her sib. It takes pressure off me to meet a plane deadline, and I can haul even more stuff aboard, like the nifty patchwork dinghy bag I'm making to protect the inflatable from UV.

After I hop aboard, we'll hustle to Hampton VA (across from Norfolk) where we'll meet Polly, Miles, Miles' parents Tammy and Robin, and his grandmother Donna Jean for Thanksgiving and a little cruising. No, I'm not going to do a turkey in the galley stove.

Long Island Sound

Bill and Act III are cozily anchored by Little Calf Island in Long Island Sound. Bill calculates the tides and daylight will be right for transiting the East River on Tuesday, so we hope the weather stays nice.

Ira Colby left Act III last Monday and made his way home by bus from New Bedford, leaving Bill to happily single-hand to Mystic CT, where he picked up a mooring and Russell Prescott on Thursday 10/29. They ate at the famous Mystic Pizza, visited Mystic Seaport, and on Friday they had a somewhat choppy sail to Bradford and Westbrook CT. Russell departed on Saturday afternoon, taking Amtrak back to his truck in Mystic.

Since I'm not aboard, I can't relate adventures of Act III. Bill is terrifically excited about the boat and pleased with his ability to handle her alone. I'm not surprised, but it's a big confidence boost to actually do it. He's had small issues...maybe the engine's running a little hot and the autopilot fuse blew one day, but he hove to and managed to fix it and make a snack. He'll delve into the engine tomorrow while he waits to do the East River. I recall from our cruise north last summer that Little Calf Island is a lovely spot off Greenwich CT, where Bill and Cousin Jim played on the water and invented the famous "off the roof" ball game.

She's Outta Here!

Bill and Ira left Friday afternoon, 10/23/09, and made it to Gloucester before deciding to wait out the frigid rain and gale winds. Today, Sunday (25) they are merrily flying along at 7.5 kts. to Provincetown, and they'll make the Cape Cod Canal transit tomorrow. Ira will de-board from New Bedford and bus home; Bill can continue through Long Island Sound with day hops (at least that's the current plan.) Bill promised me to not do any overnight passages alone. He's fully capable, but I can't afford the nail-biting with chorus and quartet contests coming up...I have to have long nails to paint brightly for the stage in 3 weeks.

So far the water pump pressure sensor has failed.

Back at the ranch, I'm organizing and finishing the leftover errands like banking and cell phone plans. It's still hard to imagine leaving. Scary and exciting!

Weather Delay

Act III was due to head south on 10/17, with Captain Bill and Crew-extraordinare Ira Colby, but a nasty Nor'easter with snow and gale winds keeps her at the mooring in Little Harbor for now. New date is likely next Thursday, 10/22, and the route is through the Cape Cod Canal into Long Island Sound, where Ira will step off and Chief Engineer Russell Prescott will come on to enjoy the trip toward NYC. After that...? I'll meet the boat and Captain in Oriental, NC on November 18, in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with Polly and Miles, and Miles' parents and grandmother, Tammy, Robin and Donna Jean coming aboard. It'll be grand!

Bill's nearly finished making deck boxes, there's plenty of food, tools and nylon net for scrubbies aboard, all the canvas is new or repaired and we're itchin' to leave. Keep your fingers crossed for some Indian summer weather to follow this weather front. (is it PC to say "Indian" summer? What does that mean, anyway?)

So, while you're waiting for news, feed the fish on the right!

Gloucester with Dane & Co.

Brother Dan and his mates, Steve and Rick, visited from California just after Labor Day and we enjoyed a picture-perfect sail to Gloucester on Tuesday. No sooner had we left Little Harbor than the USCG stopped us for a "courtesy inspection", which we learned we could not refuse. ("No thanks," tried our Captain) The good part was...well just look at how cute he was! Act III passed with flying colors, for those of you who worry about those sorts of things.

In sunshine and light breeze we made the sail around Cape Ann into Gloucester Harbor in a little over 5 hours. We picked up a public mooring for $25, launched (dinghy) Intermission, and roamed Main Street before an exquisite meal at Passports Restaurant. We tucked into our berths and slept soundly until the wind woke us in the morning. After a fine feast at Zeke's fisherman's breakfast place, we returned home through the Annisquam River for a change of scenery, where the houseboats made us smile. Bill slickly slipped us through the narrow RR bridge that didn't open 90 degrees, requiring us to stay close to the starboard side, then make a sharp left turn to stay in the shallow channel.

It had been blowing 25 kts out the the Northeast for 12 hours, creating 5-10' chop. Exiting the river with opposing tidal current and wind was a thrill. We crested one wave, then slammed the bottom just at the mouth of the river, but sturdy Act III is showed no sign of interior shifts upon later inspection. With a reef in the main, we made 7-7 1/2 kts. on a close reach home. The biggest surprise was even Bill got seasick, for the first time in 50 years. Steve was hit hardest, even wearing a scopolomine patch, but he reports that he'd do the trip again in a heartbeat, because the ride was such a thrill. Rick and Dane were only slightly uncomfortable, but the experience prompted Dane to kindly supply us with more potent seasickness meds for our boat medical kit.

After a day of recovery, the team enjoyed a lobsters, steamers and shrimp at Chauncey Creek. We took a little tour of Portsmouth, including the commercial fishing pier, where we learned not even the fishermen had gone out on the day we sailed home. Our crew deserves medals!

Unlabor Day (Title courtesy of Leif)

Sunday afternoon was sunny and breezy. We thought about sailing to Gloucester, MA; but, feeling lazy, the crew voted to overnight at Gosport Harbor (Isles of Shoals) instead. It was a good decision because we were able to enjoy a beautiful sunset and moonrise while eating Heidi's excellent pasta dinner, enjoying the wine that Leif and Brandy brought, and laughng a lot.

Labor Day morning was beautiful and warm. Leif and brandy took the dinghy to Star Island for some exploration and couple time, while Heidi, Bayley and I stayed aboard. Although Bayley is only eleven, she is excellent company and a great crewmember. She asks what she can do to help, and she is rapidly becoming an accomplished helmsperson.

When Leif and Brandy returned, we sailed around a little looking for whales, but no success; then we broad reached back to Little Harbor.

These excellent photos are courtesy of Leif. He prints and sells photos as well.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=leifperc&target=ALBUM&id=5379603726643659873&authkey=Gv1sRgCMLIsL3vwoPerAE&invite=CO3H3OwL&feat=email>

Leif, Paul and Mary Beth

A beautiful day, a great crew, and lots of laughs. Paul is one of my favorite tennis partners and Mary Beth is his S.O.
We purchased our previous boat, Dragonfly, from Leif. They all love sailing. Mary Beth and Paul may have some free time, so look for them in future posts as we cruise south.

How did we not get pictues of Mary Beth and Heidi, our hot deck babes? I guess it is because Mary Beth took the pictures.l