Mystery Fins

Note: Several people have made me aware that the last blog post was not delivered properly to subscribers.  I believe the video I loaded at the beginning of the blog might have interfered with the email delivery of the entire post.  If you did not receive the whale video, or any of the pictures, please go to the home page (mvrighthand.blogspot.com) to access that post.  Today, I will try putting the video at the end of the post to see if the other pictures get delivered.

We made it to our northernmost destination...Bar Harbor, Maine.  The area is absolutely beautiful!  Navigating these waters can be a little stressful simply because it feels impossible for us to be so close to a mountain, coming out of the water, without hitting anything.  My brain has trouble trusting the charts, but so far they have been very accurate.  We really are in 125 feet of water, 150 feet away from a sheer rock wall.

All 3 agree...redundancy is our friend!

We made an interesting discovery on Saturday while traveling between Jewell Island and Seal Harbor.  The mystery started with the spotting of a fin sticking out of the water.  The fin didn’t behave like a ‘normal’ fin...it didn’t seem to be moving with any direction or purpose.  It just seemed to be bobbing along in the water.  We captured a video of that fin, but couldn’t see the creature to which it was attached.  These sightings went on most of the day, but we couldn’t figure out what animal we were seeing.  Finally, several hours into this mystery there was a ‘floppy fin’ dead ahead.  We put the engines in neutral, grabbed our cameras, and drifted up the the creature.

SUNFISH!!!

If you enlarge this picture and zoom in on his/her face you will see that he/she was surprised to see us...or quite possibly this fish is an expert at mimicking and is reproducing what our faces looked like at that moment😲 We were able to capture a video that will help you understand the bobbing/floppy fin description (I will  link it at the end).

We anchored on the west side of the ‘Bar’ at Bar Harbor. On Sunday we were able to launch the Whaler and go into town to restock our fruits and veggies. This was the first time we were on land in 12 days. Our timing wasn’t the best...

We were visiting Bar Harbor with 5,000 of our closest friends!  Luckily, none of them were interested in fruits and veggies from the market!

Here is our Sunfish in ‘action’ 

There She Blows!!

The past two days have been incredible!! We left Hull Bay on Thursday morning, and thanks to advice from our new friends Ken and Barbara on Northwind (thanks for the connection Bill!), we headed for Isle of Shoals 5 miles off the coast on the boarder of New Hampshire and Maine.  On the way there...WE SAW WHALES!

This whale surfaced in front of us several times. Each time we put the engines in neutral and drifted for a few minutes to give the whale room.  You can see that this whale has been hit by a boat prop in the past.  What happened next makes me wonder if any whale is safe along our coast.  A large whale watching boat came flying up behind us at a high rate of speed, and continued to chase the whale until they were out of site.  It was amazing to see this whale from our own boat, but I felt very sorry for the whale knowing that most encounters with humans must be very traumatic!

The other concern that occurred to me, after the whale left us...oh crappers...I hope my clean sheets didn’t get sprayed with stinky whale breath😁

Isles of Shoals was a very cool place to visit! It is made up of several small rock islands that people have connected through a series of breakwaters to create a cozy little harbor.  We originally planned to anchor, but the small harbor was full of mooring balls, and was 50 feet deep.  There was no way we could let out enough scope (amount of chain to have the correct angle) to make a good connection

with the bottom.  We decided to attempt to pick up a mooring ball, which would be a first for us on this boat.  The mooring ball experience was fabulous!  The harbor, however, was not the quiet serene place we expected. The largest of the islands has several large buildings that are owned by a church, and are used for conferences and camp.  Camp was in full swing and young people were everywhere...playing a baseball game, having row boat races around us, kayaking, and singing.  It was an unexpected pleasure to see so many young people enjoying this unusual setting.

We believe we were anchored a few feet on the Maine side...we made it to Maine😊

The next morning we left for Jewell Island, just east of Portland Maine.  Our day of cruising saw the calmest conditions I have every experienced.  The ocean was a sheet of glass the entire day.  We saw seals, whale spouts, and schools of harbor porpoise.

Unbelievably CALM!

As we neared the coastline the view was spectacular! The islands were so picturesque they fulfilled my vision of Maine...rugged terrain made up of steep rocky cliffs.  We are DEFINITELY in Maine!! The anchorage was AMAZING, and we launched the kayak and paddle board as soon as the hook was set.

If you zoom in on the Garmin map (linked to our main blog site) you will see the google earth view of the anchorage.  As you can see, this was a cozy nook.

I can’t believe we are anchored here!

And after exploring all of this beauty, we were still treated to an amazing sunset!

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

The past few days have presented some weather challenges.  We never experienced ‘the heat wave’ that we heard so much about. Even though a hot air mass did push into the area, we were floating in a huge body of water with a temperature of 68 degrees.  There was at least a 20 degree difference between the inland temp and the temp a few miles offshore.  In fact, we have had our sweatshirts handy ever since we arrived in New York.  At this moment (Wednesday evening) we are anchored in Hull Bay just outside of Boston, and it is a beautiful and calm 68 degree evening.

Tonight’s sunset...that is Boston

However, a few days ago things were not so calm.  For several days we were aware that Tuesday might pose a problem.  We were scheduled to transit the Cape Cod Canal on Tuesday, and travel north to Boston.  We go to great lengths to analyze all available data to make the decision “should we stay or should we go?”  Our first hint comes with the wind predictions...

Winds will be blowing out of the NNE over 20mph...that will make some big waves 

6 foot waves...really?

Yep...6 foot waves (this one is in meters)

I’m sure you are asking yourself “what is causing this?”  Good question...

Ohhhh...a very well defined low pressure system converging right off Cape Cod.  If you overlay this with the wind prediction picture you will see that low pressure center with the calm winds and the crazy winds on both side of the front...INTERESTING!  The decision is clear, we will not move on Tuesday!

We stayed in a great Anchorage in Bourne, Massachusetts where we got slammed by two storms (one of which caused a very uncommon tornado on Cape Cod), but we were safely anchored so the storms were wonderful to watch.  It rained all day on Tuesday, and as predicted we had very high winds.  We were able to relax, cook, clean, do engine maintenance, and play with a rain collection idea. 

I received Sugru (cool stuff) 

as a retirement gift (thanks Amy)  with the challenge to find creative ways to use it on the boat.  I wanted to collect rain water to use for laundry and the outdoor shower. The brow, in front of the bridge, deflects a lot of water during rain events, but I needed a way to channel it into a bucket.

By Tuesday night the signs were good that the bad weather was gone and we were free to continue our voyage.

Liberty & Freedom

Note: The blog site now includes a map link that will give you our current location. Please note the Garmin InReach drops a ‘breadcrumb’ every 10 minutes, then draws a straight line to connect the dots...we have not run aground or traveled over land at any point on this trip😊! Also, I changed the setting to allow anyone to easily comment. I apologize for any problems you might have experienced, but remember...I am new at this...

Traveling through New York was an amazing experience!  We were a little nervous about the boat traffic, as we had read many nightmarish versions of the transit. About two hours outside of New York, Keith asked me “ have you formulated your plan for entering the harbor” (we take shifts at the helm and transiting the harbor would come during my shift).  The question made me reconsider whether or not I put enough time into planning.  I had studied the chart, identified the channels, and best route to stay out of the way of ship traffic...but generally my ‘plan’ was the same as all plans.  Plot your course, follow rules of the road, stay out of the way of large vessels, and be prepared to give way to people who are clueless! I was still a tad bit nervous.  Well...we made it through New York unscathed, and after reflecting on the experience I don’t think it lived up to the hype, at all!  Yes, there are a lot of boats...going in many directions, and yes, the ferries and tour boats are large, fast, and clearly in a hurry!

 

Staten Island Ferry...it’s nice of them to use Oriole’s colors!

If you only look at the AIS screen you will definitely panic...YIKES...300 targets???

Safely at anchor, with an awesome view from the stern!

A view of Manhattan from the bow. 

I would not recommend this anchor spot to anyone prone to sea sickness.  The passing ferries and tour boats create a LOT of wave action hitting you from every direction. Luckily, Keith and I both have a high tolerance and were fine, but I was happy we didn’t have guests onboard! 

On the morning of July 19 we weighed (raised) the anchor and headed for the East River. Again, I was at the helm because we switch anchor duties every morning. Since I weighed anchor the day before, it was Keith’s turn, which meant I had first shift at the helm.

 Very calm on East River this morning. 

That’s unexpected...a commuter plane landing on East River.

 This is a floating prison barge located directly across the river from Rikers Island. We could see prisoners playing basketball in the ‘yard’ located in the upper left corner of this picture. Passing between these two facilities definitely gave reason to pause and reflect on how lucky we are...I am very thankful for the love, support, and opportunities I have been given throughout my life, which now allow me to live this fabulous life of FREEDOM!!

Houston - We Had a Problem!

We entered the Atlantic Ocean at 10:52 on July 14.  By 4:30 we were anchoring behind Harrah’s Casino in Atlantic City.  This was a very interesting place to anchore, because we were quite literally sitting between two very different worlds. Off the starboard side of the boat was the Atlantic City strip...full of people, noise, lights and casinos. Off the port side was a beautiful and tranquil wetland as far as the eye could see.

View from starboard (that is the right side of the boat when looking forward)

Didn’t expect this...we will need dark out shades tonight!

We left there on Monday morning with plans to cover 55 nautical miles to anchor in the Manasquan River, but about 25 miles into the trip we noticed a change in the vibrations on deck.  We discussed what might have caused the change, and talked about the currents, wave actions, and other variables the ocean could produce. However, during the next engine check it became very obvious why the vibration changed... two bolts were sheered in the starboard shaft coupler and the shaft was spinning out of alignment.  Luckily we were right at the mouth of the Barnegat Light inlet and made it safely inside to anchore in an awesome and beautiful spot. 

Entering Barnegat Light Inlet

Since we were there for several days we launched the Whaler and went ashore to buy veggies and wonderful fresh seafood! We also found the ice cream shop!

While Keith was working hard to make repairs  (I offered to help) I was thoroughly entertained by survival training for Air Force personnel. 

They launched a life raft and put the eight students inside. The raft was tied to a mooring ball 100 ft from our boat.

Then each student was taken by jet ski from the life raft to the helicopter (about 250ft behind the boat) to practice being hoisted in the basket. They were returned to the water and taken back to the life raft. After all 8 successfully completed the hoist lesson they remained in the life raft for additional survival instruction.  Everyone did a great job, and I appreciated the opportunity to have a front row seat!

Heading to New York today...

Right Hand has Left the Chesapeake Bay!

This morning we transited the C & D Canal and are currently cruising down the Delaware Bay.  We are rocketing toward the Atlantic at an astounding 11mph.  That might not sound impressive to you, but our normal speed is 8 mph. Being able to take advantage of the outgoing tide makes a huge difference to our overall speed and fuel consumption.

We have spent the past two days anchored in the Sassafras River, diving the bottom (that was all Keith) to make sure the water intakes and props were clean.  We also enjoyed a few passing storms.

I love to watch the storm front roll in!

Entering the C & D Canal...it’s official, our journey has begun!

We made it under the railroad bridge with 10 minutes to spare.  We can still fit under when the bridge is down, but the thought of a train traveling over us is a little unnerving! 

Oh look...a nice military escort down the Delaware Bay, or maybe they would like us to be a little farther away from that nuclear power plant!

Vacation Week

One week in and this retirement thing feels like a very exhausting vacation.  The first week entailed having two grand daughters, Lucy (5) and Maggie (3), for 6 days.  The energy I thought I had has been completely depleted!  Entertaining children on a boat is slightly different from spending a week with them on land.  When you take a beach vacation the adults control how much time is spent at the water.  On a boat we are always at the water, which for these girls means they should be able to swim from the time the sun rises until the time the sun sets.  At 6:30 a.m. I was greeted with a small face smiling down at me whispering “grandmom, can I jump in now?”

 Knowing we would be on a boat together for such a long time, I felt the need to plan a variety of activities.  Some of my ideas were brilliant...others I would classify as ‘epic fail!’ However, my rating scale can be considered bias.  If I was able to sit in a beach chair in the shade while they played with magic sand or sea animals in the blow up pool I rated the idea ‘brilliant’

If the activity caused me extensive work in the area of clean up...fail!

The glitter paint to decorate their own visors was the worst idea ever, and we will have glitter paint finger prints on the pilot house cushions for many years to come...hopefully this will remind grandmom to think through the reality of projects:) 

We had a fabulous time exploring and playing in Eagle Cove, and made wonderful memories of grandmom’s first week of retirement!

Oh yeah, and for those of you who have never tried one...

Outdoor boat showers are the BEST!