Dr Seuss Advice

The forecast for high winds encouraged us to stay put in Barnegat for four days.  This allowed time for some much needed relaxation, and boat project completion.  Keith spent the time with his body shoved half way into a fuel tank, and I spent time with my body shoved half way into a locker (tiny closet).  It feels good to get some of our projects checked off the list!

I was hoping to be able to reprovision while in Barnegat, but was surprised to learn the town closes down after Labor Day.  When we passed through in July I was excited to find an amazing seafood market, a wonderful vegetable stand, and a small grocery store with a nice variety of items.  During this stop, I wasn’t surprised to find the vegetable stand abandoned, but I was shocked to find the seafood market only open on weekends, and the grocery store closed until Memorial Day weekend!  I was determined to find something open and lowered my expectations to possibly find a resupply of chocolate. Surely there would be a gas station, or mini-mart on the island.  I visited the post office for information and found that there was a shuttle that could take me to the town (but it only runs on weekends in the off season) and there was a delicatessen open year round a few block away...yippeee...a deli!

This is what a ‘normal’ provisioning trip looks like for us (this happened to be in Bar Harbor)

This is the result of a provisioning trip when we are stuck in a ‘food desert’.  I know this is a microcosm example, but I realized that I have never experienced an inability to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables whenever the want/need arose.  We certainly weren’t desperate to purchase food.  We could probably survive on our boat for many months without bringing anything new aboard.  However, the experience definitely made me appreciate the freedoms I have always enjoyed, while giving me a new appreciation for people who actually live without access to fresh food.

We also had time during our Barnegat layover to dwell on our Shinnecock Lock experience.  As I was measuring, cutting, and nailing in the locker my mind was occupied with our experience.  I milled over what happened and how I possibly should have taken past advice a little more to heart.  One example is a voice from the past reminding me that it is important that the hull of the boat never touches anything but water.  The person’s name was Bill Sherman, and Keith had chartered a trawler from him shortly after we started dating (what a nice surprise).  When we picked up the boat Bill told us the three rules he had regarding the use of his boat.

1. Always check the oil before starting the engine
2. Never operate his boat at night
3. Only water should touch the hull

He then looked at me and asked if I understood that last one.  I said, “sure, don’t hit anything”...no, he replied “don’t touch anything”! He then proceeded to name a few of the things we should not touch like, piling, piers, and other boats.  He then ended the ‘lesson’ with “...and never, ever touch the bottom!”  At the time I thought he was being a little dramatic, but over the years, the conversation has resonated in a strange way. Particularly when we come upon something we don’t want the hull to touch.  I have always kept a mental list of these things and after our new experiences over the past 2 months I decided to commit them to paper with the new items we have recently discovered.  This ‘poem’ is inspired by Bill Sherman and set to the tempo of Dr. Seuss.  It is entitled ‘Only Water Shall Touch The Hull’

Do not touch a net, pot or float

Never touch another boat

Do not touch a piling

Do not touch a dock

Stay far away from any rock

Do not touch a bridge

Do not touch a pier

As for bollards and flood gates, DO NOT GO NEAR

Do not touch a branch, log or tree 

Stay clear of any floating debris

Sandbars and shoals are not your friend

The final message in the end...

Never, ever touch the bottom!

I hope I will not find a reason to come back and add lines to this anytime soon!  Now that I have that out of my system it’s time to move on.  We left Barnegat on Friday morning and were pleasantly surprised to see a text from our friend Bill telling us that he had joined Ken and Barbara on Northwind in Manasquan, and was accompanying them for the remainder of their trip to Kent Island.  As it turned out, we could see them about 7 miles ahead of us and we traveled down the coast together meeting up at an anchorage in Cape May.  We had a great evening sharing stories over dinner and cocktails on Northwind.

We anchored just to the left of the Coast Guard boot camp in Cape May.  

The trip through Cape May Canal was very nice, and the tide was with us for our transit up the Delaware Bay.  Transiting the C&D Canal was a breeze and we anchored in the Bohemia River in time to enjoy a swim before dinner.  The water temp was 70 degrees, much better than 54! The next day we visited the Sassafras River to kayak the Lotus fields (thanks for reminding me Bill). We are back in the Chesapeake!  

Unlike Water  Lillies, Lotus leaves are round.  The strong fibrous stem attaches at the center of the leaf, and as you can see they are extremely water repellent.

When the tide is high the leaves float on the surface, but when the tide is low the leaves actually stand up out of the water. This picture was taken while both of us were sitting in our kayaks. At times we were kayaking under a canopy of leaves. The huge seed pods in this picture held beautiful creamy yellow lotus flowers just a few weeks ago...imagine that sight!

We are not ashamed to earn ‘dork of the year’ awards...it’s just who we are😁

Keith said this leaf on my head “makes me look much younger” I’ll just let that go and THANK him for the ‘compliment’😉

Bad Decisions Can Be Dangerous

Everyone makes bad decisions from time to time.  Usually, the results are of little consequence, but sometimes a bad decision can have disasterous consequences.  On Saturday, we found ourselves in a situation that could have ended very badly for us and our boat.  Thankfully, we made it through unscathed, at least physically...we are both still shaken from the experience, but upon reflection we have learned a valuable lesson.  Before explaining the actual event in question, I will walk you through the day that led up to the near disaster.

While planning our trip south we were trying to decide which route to take around Long Island.  On our trip north we went through NY City and Long Island Sound, and thought it would be nice to take the outside route on our trip south.  We wanted to explore the numerous bays that are inside the eastern end of Long Island, and learned from friends that there was actually a cut through route that would put us on the south side of Long Island, perfect!  The winds have been strong lately, and the sea state very agitated so cutting out some of the ocean travel sounded like a good idea.

This was the route we planned to take.

We traveled from Block Island to the town of Greenport, where we found a protected anchorage and visited the town.  Definitely in the top five of my favorite towns visited in the past two months.  It is a small town with a 1950s feel.  A great place to provision if you are passing through.  Anyway we spent that night researching this unknown (to us) passage to make sure we were making an informed decision about proceeding on this route.  There were essentially two unknowns that we needed to gather additional information regarding. This route entails a canal/lock system, and an inlet that is poorly marked.  

Our research regarding the Shinnecock Canal & Lock led us to believe that this was a ‘normal’ lock. By normal, I mean a lock similar to other locks we have transmitted. There are gates, you enter when told to do so, tie a line to something, wait for the water level to be raised or lowered, and exit when told to do so.  The internet contained numerous articles and videos regarding the lock (including how the Long Island Police Department got there submarine stuck in it), but by all accounts it looked ‘normal’...easy peasy! The part that concerned us was the clearance height of the bridges we needed to go under during our transit of the canal.  The lowest bridge was 22 feet.  Our boat requires 24 feet clearance with the radar mast up, but only 20 feet if we lower the mast...doable, but let’s try for low tide when passing under that bridge!

The next portion of research was focused on the Shinnecock Inlet.  There were numerous warnings that due to extreme shoaling, permanent navigation markers were not placed at the inlet.  Our charts showed clear channels, but all advice suggested anyone planning to transit the inlet should seek local knowledge before proceeding.  The next morning I called the Shinnecock Coast Guard station and asked the condition of the inlet.  I was told that the inlet was navigable, but they suggested we go at high tide, and reminded us to pay close attention to all navigation markers. The high tide (which would occur at 9:00 a.m.) recommendation threw a little wrench in the plan, because I was hoping to leave at sun up to allow us time to make an 80 mile trip to Manasquan Inlet, NJ.  

The other part of the equation is that we wanted to take advantage of a weather window on Sunday and Monday, but needed to be tucked into a protected anchorage (hopefully Barnegat) before Tuesday. Should we travel Long Island Sound on Saturday, then through NY to Manasquan on Sunday, and a short hop to Barnegat on Monday...or...should we explore the bays of Long Island and go through the Shinnecock Canal/lock on Saturday, travel to Sandy Hook on Sunday, then down to Barnegat on Monday.  Let’s go with Shinnecock...something we haven’t experienced before...fun! It’s my turn to pull the anchor and Keith’s turn to take the helm (little did we know that Keith just drew the ‘short straw’!

After getting the Whaler up, we lowered the radar mast and secured it with a special PVC pipe support. Let’s explore these bays...

The bays were very large bodies of water and were very rough from the high winds that day (which weighed in our decision to avoid Long Island Sound that day)

Yippeee...the entrance to the canal, this should be much calmer. There is a strong current pushing us in, but that shouldn’t last long with a lock up ahead.

The instructions for entering the lock (as printed in several places) state to follow the light signals. Green means enter, red means wait, and flashing lights mean stand clear.  Coming upon the lock we could see red lights, but when we came around the bend there were green lights. The boat we had followed into the canal proceeded toward the green lights.  We were confused...what is this, is there a lock for each direction...everything looks open...oh good, I guess we get to go right through...oh, not good...

The current and eddies were very strong, we were getting pushed around and needed to increase speed to have steerage. With increased heart rates, sweaty palms, and knots in our stomachs we are getting swept toward a very narrow gate. The realization that we are losing control of a 60,000 lb boat moving at 9mph is definitely an ‘oh crap’ moment.

Are we seriously supposed to fit through there?? The current is very swift here and the eddies are pushing us sideways.  As the boat turned 30 degrees off center it was clear that we were going to hit something...this is VERY BAD!  My initial reaction was to run down to attempt to deploy fenders.  No, wait...if we are going to get reverse T-boned by that bollard I probably shouldn’t be hanging over the side, I should brace for impact.  I felt a thrust and saw the flood gates pass by without any crunching sound.  HE DID IT!!! Keith pulled it off, at the last minute he was able to go full throttle and use the thrust to correct our approach angle and slip through the gate.  Keith gets the helmsman of the year award, but don’t celebrate yet...

Are we going to fit under there!  It looks lower than 22ft. Keith said, “there is nothing we can do about it now.”  I climbed on the stack and peered over the hard top...YES...there is about 2 feet of clearance...easy peasy?  As we exited the canal Keith summed up the experience perfectly, “thank goodness Dr. Ginsburg did a good job.”  Dr. Ginsburg is the cardiologist who saved Keith’s life last year by placing two stents in his heart during a major heart attack.  This experience put those stents to the test.  We were lucky enough to come through unscathed physically, but mentally we were shaken (and of course reflection on what went wrong will continue for a long time.)  We are well aware of the fact that we used our ‘Get out of jail free’ card this time!

After further investigation we have learned that we should have called the lock operator to ask about conditions and request use of the lock for our transit south.  Apparently, when they open all gates they expect southbound boats to travel through the flood gates and north bound boats to travel through the lock.  However, if a large boat is heading south they will stop northbound traffic and let the large southbound boat use the 40 ft wide lock.  Wow, it would have been nice to know that bit of information.  Lesson learned from this experience is that from now on we will always call the operator of any unknown canal or lock!

We anchored in Shinnecock Bay, and were tempted to start drinking at 1:30 in the afternoon, but we didn’t...we still had to get out of the questionable inlet the next morning.

Luckily, out transit through the inlet was easy with plenty of water under the keel.  Once in the ocean we re-evaluated our destination and decided to head south.  Manasquan was 80 miles away, Barnegat 100, but we could get half way there and decide.  The ocean was rough with large swells so we tried to stick to a two hour helm rotation.  Dolphins greeted us, and we were happy to see them for the first time in two months. 

Sadly, the only other thing we saw besides dolphins was mylar balloons. We counted ten balloons during our passage yesterday.  We usually try to pick them up, but conditions were rather rough yesterday so we couldn’t safely get them. 

After checking to be sure tide and wave conditions would allow entry at Barnegat, we decided to suck it up and run for Barnegat.  This was the sunset while we were still in the ocean.  We weren’t thrilled about entering Barnegat Inlet in the dark, but the only reason we considered it was because our GPS had the tracks from our entrance a few months ago.  We were safely at anchor in Barnegat at 9:20 on Sunday night, 13 hours after leaving Shinnecock Inlet.

On Monday we treated ourselves to a beach day...fabulous!!

We LOVE Barnegat!  

Harbor Culture

After Dorian passed, we decided to stay in Onset on Sunday to give the ocean a chance to calm down.  This was a good decision, as it was a beautiful day, and I was in desperate need of getting my feet in the sand!  The day was sunny, warm and beautiful...albeit, still pretty breezy.  After hailing the pump out boat (I love towns that have a boat that comes to you!) we launched our toys.

The upper body workout was great



 But sometimes I just need to walk on a beach...ahhhh!  Now I’m recharged, tomorrow on to Newport, RI.

Monday delivered another beautiful day.  The seas were calm, wind light, sky blue, and temperature in the upper 70s...nice!  This was a perfect day to be on the water.  We left Onset around 9:00 a.m. heading for Newport, RI (approximately 45 miles).  We caught the outgoing tide and were cruising at 10mph for the first two hours.  The day was so calm and beautiful we decided to slow down and troll with the hopes of catching dinner.

Didn’t even get a nibble😕 That’s alright, we were not deterred from thoroughly enjoying this day.  We each had the rare opportunity to sunbath (when not on helm duty.)

This was my view during my ‘down time’- it is not the Space Shuttle looking down, it is me looking up...beautiful!

We happened upon another pole sticking out of the water, but this one was accompanied by a shipwreck! What came first...the pole or the shipwreck?

We entered the Newport Harbor at 4:20...trolling at 3mph adds a little time to the journey.

I nominate this house for most interesting location.  

As we entered the Newport Harbor I was amazed at the number and diversity of boats. This place is the ‘melting pot’ of boating, and these people are serious about their boats.  The term ‘boating’ is in the eye of the beholder...

Mega yachts abound...

All shapes and sizes are well represented and welcome! 

I have always believed that the boats in a harbor give a fairly accurate snapshot of the ‘culture’ of the town.  Never has this been more true than comparing Gloucester and Newport.  Both are amazing places full of fabulous boats and great people, but clearly the purpose and connections are vastly different...fascinating!  However, Keith and I are more comfortable in an environment that is less crowded, so we will look for a different ‘Harbor Culture’ at Block Island.

Another nice day to be on the water.

We passed a wind farm on the way, and a cute fishing boat.

Block Island has a very interesting looking lighthouse...is it a church, maybe a school...oh, it’s a lighthouse👍

We were anchored at the pink star.  This is our kind of place! The weather was great when we arrived and I had grandeur plans of spending a few days here kayaking, paddle boarding, and beach combing.  While at anchor you can scan 360 degrees around the boat and feel as though you are totally enclosed in this harbor. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and we spent the second day hiding from a screaming wind that was forecast to continue for the better part of the next 5 days. Thursday morning offered a brief reprieve from the wind, so we decided to hightail it to Long Island with the hope of having a protected place (inside the bays) to explore and relax until the next weather window opens.

Sorry Block Island, we will have to return to enjoy your culture!

Batten Down The Hatches

We are anchored safely just outside of Buzzard’s Bay on the southwest side of the Cape Cod Canal.  We arrived at this anchorage on Thursday, and had Friday to prepare for the storm.  Since the forecast was calling for possible wind gusts up to 50 mph we were maticulous in preparations.  We spent the better part of the morning preparing the boat for the storm, all loose items on the boat were either stowed in an enclosed area or tried down.  We knew the anchorage had good holding, because we experienced a severe storm here on our way north.  We let out 150 ft of 5/8 anchor chain and connected both the bridle (from the bow pulpit) and a snubber line (from a bow eye at the water line) to the chain.

Thursday night provided a beautiful sunset...we knew Friday night would not look like this.

 The best way to combat cold rainy weather is to make pumpkin donuts...yum! We have to find warmer weather before we gain 100 lbs! 

Tropical Storm Dorian passed off the coast of Massachusetts early Saturday morning.  It was raining and windy most of the night, however, we were awakened at 5:30 by very strong winds (30-40 mph). The boat was whipping from side to side as the wind would catch the bow and blow it over, then exposing the side of the boat to the full force of the wind, pushing the boat back to the straight line, and start the process on the other side.  This motion is called ‘Hobby Horsing’, and usually a bridle helps to dampen the motion, but with the wind that strong the motion was pretty extreme. The lesson learned from this experience is to sleep on your back.  Your back is the ‘flat’ side of your body and will slow down the tendency to roll.  I can pretty much sleep anywhere so on my back and back to sleep 😴.  We did get up to check our position and the positions of boats around us...the anchor was holding fine so back to sleep! 

We also have an anchor alarm, which shows the perfect arch created from our movement during the storm.  The winds started out of the east, and as the storm moved past our location winds changed to come from the north...that in turn pushed the boat to the southern portion of this alarm circle. If, at any time, the boat would have drifted outside the circle an alarm would have gone off to let us know our anchor was dragging.

 The strong winds lasted until early afternoon, by late afternoon the sun was out, the temperature warmed up and the winds were gone...fabulous!  

These ‘down times’ in travel provide an opportunity for us to work on boat projects.  Keith has been working on rebuilding some of the structural components inside one of the hanging lockers (closet) in the master stateroom.  Once he finishes with the structural carpentry, I will go in as the ‘finish’ carpenter and rebuild the interior of the locker.  I have been working on both sewing projects, and teak restoration.  I will admit that my sewing skills leave a lot to be desired, but I am able to create functional items.  This past week I was able to make covers for the foam cushions that will hold the Whaler on the upper deck in our new configuration.  Here’s a tip...if you ever visit our boat, don’t laugh at my sewing😉.

Before heading to Cape Cod, to hide from the storm, we spent a few days in Plymouth, MA. Plymouth was a wonderful place to visit. We anchored in Duxbury Bay, which was a few miles outside of Plymouth harbor but was a great place to anchor.  The bay is very large and open at high tide, but at low tide we were surrounded by mud flats.  This anchorage offers good protection from everything except strong winds from the south.

Low tide sunset in Duxbury Bay.

We did visit Plymouth to explore the history, and to find groceries.

Plymouth has a very protected man-made harbor...can you see the huge breakwater wall in this picture?

Now that is a functional dinghy dock!

We found the ‘Landing Place’ of the pilgrims, and had an interesting conversation with the man who snapped this picture.  He was telling us a little history, and expressed concern that some people in the town were fighting to change the crest/emblem at the top of this sign.  I don’t want to get political, but to be honest I can see how it can be interpreted in a negative light.

I told the man that as a newcomer (never having seen this before) it looks to me like an arm holding a cutlass in a posture that wants to attack the Native American Indian (or is bragging about cutting them down), even though the Indian is also depicted with weapons his posture is not threatening.  The man said, “I guess your right, the man was known for killing Indians...I guess I’m just a traditionalist and hate to see thing changed.”  We thanked him for his insight and he wished us a nice day!  From there we hiked 2.5 miles (round trip) to buy groceries. 

Yippeeee...we are restocked with fresh fruits and veggies, and completely exhausted...what a great day!

Trust the Gorton’s Fishermen

Gloucester is an amazing town!  There is a wonderful mixture of historic and modern in this working fishing town.  This harbor is the most well organized harbor I have ever seen, hosting a multitude of boats of every shape, size, and purpose.  This harbor clearly supports many people who make there living from the sea, but it is also very welcoming to visitors.  There are several dinghy docks located in each corner of the harbor, with a mooring field and anchor space in the inner harbor area.

When we first arrived we anchored near a large mooring field on the east side of Gloucester Harbor.  This spot proved to be pretty rough with a rolling swell coming through the harbor from the ocean.  The next day we attempted to move several times to find a calmer location (as you can see from our inReach map).  Unfortunately, the inner harbor was too crowded. We settled for the western side of the harbor, and launched the Whaler to visit the town for a wonderful lunch and a dinghy tour of the harbor.  

After returning to the boat we realized that our new anchor spot had terrible wave action so we decided to pack it in and head to Salem with the hope of finding a more protected anchorage.

It took us about 90 minutes to get to Salem, but we made it before dark.  Salem is also a welcoming town with places to anchor and a town dock. This was a very interesting town to visit.

The commercial side of Salem has fun with the witch thing.

All joking aside, the cemetery in Salem is fascinating.  The contemplation of what happened here in 1692-1693 gives this spot a much more somber feel as compared to the rest of the town, where they celebrate everything witch!  I love to read old dates on headstones, and this cemetery has markers from the 1600s to the 1800s.



Here’s a ‘sneak peek’ at a scene from a new Adam Sandler show...they were filming from Salem!

We are currently in Plymouth, Massachusetts and are watching the forecasts closely.  We plan to travel through the Cape Cod Canal on Thursday and anchor in Bourne, Mass for a few days until all remnants on Dorian are gone.  That location will give us better protection from the winds forecasted to start on Friday.