Don't Jump!

PM's Perspective

From Pequonnock Yacht Club in West Haven we ventured to Brewer's Yacht Haven in Stamford.  We used our time here to reprovision, do a few projects on the boat (Bob varnished the starboard door), and rent a car to return to Maine for a quick visit with the Greenleafs and other friends and for me to check on some work projects.  We were amazed when we realized that it took us five hours to drive the distance it has taken us five weeks to travel by boat!  We are living life in the slow lane for sure!  We took full advantage of having a car and went to Trader Joe's in Darien to restock on basic essentials such as dark chocolate!

We headed out to Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sunday, August 24th.  Sunday is a great day to travel this route as there is minimal commuter traffic.  This leg of our journey involves passing through Hell Gate once again.  The name itself is not very inviting and if we try to transverse this portion of the East River when the tide is at full tilt against us, we could find ourselves going backwards.  The tide runs as much 7 knots and we tend to average a speed of 6 knots.  The tricky part about Long Island Sound and the East River is that they have direct opposite tides: that is, when the East River experiences a draining tide, Long Island Sound experiences a flooding tide.  It took me a while to fully understand that one!

Roiling waters of Hell Gate from the bow of Velomer

 Our passage through Hell Gate went delightfully smoothly.  Captain Bob negotiated the currents expertly from the helm while I stood on the bow watching the water roil and enjoying the hubbub of New York City.  Once through Hell Gate we marveled at the New York skyline trying to identify the various landmarks.  The Empire State Building, the United Nations, the Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty way in the distance.  Just as we were coming up to the Brooklyn Bridge we noticed a great deal of activity including flashing red lights on police cars on the bridge, ambulances racing to the bridge, several helicopters swooping overhead, police boats in the river.  Something was happening.  I thought that maybe there was a road race or some such thing.  As we got closer, the situation became more frenetic with more flashing red lights, another helicopter, more police boats racing to the scene.

NYPD surround the climber.

Velomer was the last boat to pass under the bridge before all river traffic including ferries was stopped.  As we looked back toward the bridge, the scene clarified -- someone had climbed high onto the suspended support cables.  I assumed it was a jumper.  What desperate situation would lead a person to climb so high?  As someone not overly fond of heights, it gave me the willies just to think about it.  The next day I found out that the person who climbed onto the bridge was a Russian tourist, 24-year old Yaroslav Kolchin.  He did so to take pictures of New York landmarks.  The extent that some tourists will go to in order to get a good picture!  He was arrested and charged with trespassing and endangerment.  His bail was set at $5,000.  He probably cost the NY taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.  But, he didn't jump!

We docked at Liberty Landing without a hitch.  Bob is really getting the hang of maneuvering Velomer into tight places!  That evening we took the ferry to Manhattan and met Bob and Essie Schlegel, Bettina's parents, for a wonderful dinner and great conversation.  The main topic of conversation of course was Phil and Bettina's upcoming nuptials in October!  We spent another day at the marina exploring Liberty State Park and getting ready for our off shore journey down the New Jersey coast.  We estimate that it will take us three travel days.

BOB'S VIEW:

Back on the waters again!

It has been some time since we updated this blog.  Credit the days and days of smooth and entertaining travel and the fact that we were so at peace with the adventure down Long Island Sound from Jamestown, RI, through Hell Gate into New York Harbor and just recently down the lee shore ( it's always a lee shore) of New Jersey.  Our adventure have been less about the mechanical issues of VELOMER, and that's been a huge improvement, and much more about the people we have seen, the amazing time at sea witnessing sea life and all the vital Atlantic had to offer and the somewhat distracting ports we have encountered.  So to return to the blog format:




Course:  Clark's Boatyard, Jamestown to Dobson's Boatyard, Stonington, RI
Distance: 31.9 (N)
Travel Time: 5 hours
Seas: less than 2 feet, choppy off Watch Hill due to opposing currents and wind
Wind: light and variable
Weather: slightly overcast
Mechanical Issues:  smoke alarm (see below)








Departing Clark's Marina Boatyard in Jamestown at 0700 on 8/12 and making for Stonington, CT, VELOMER resisted the urge to visit Block Island this time as it was still high summer and we had heard that the availability of space was very limited in New Harbor. As we have listened to others describe visits to this offshore retreat, it is now our intention to return at a later date after Labor Day or before Memorial Day to avoid the crazies that seem to flock to this party spot all summer long.  We also decided we could forgo the fried dough, cotton candy and fudge that seem to be the stable of the Block Island visiting boater's diet.




Cruising southwest along the Rhode Island shore, passing Beaver Tail Lighthouse and Point Judith, Fisher's Island and Watch Hill was familiar for us as we had been through here twice last season to begin our cruise up the Hudson River into Lake Champlain and then again rushing back to Boston to see the twins for 15 minutes at Logan Airport.  Both PM and I are looking forward to getting south of Sandy Hook, NJ where we will be in unexplored new waters. 


Stonington is as we last left it, very neat, very clean and very anal in choices of colors of plants matching house trim and offering us a sweet marina where we picked up a mooring for two days.  Tony Stapleton, PM's college buddy from Hamilton/Kirkland, had joined us in Jamestown for what we expected to be 2-3 days but left us soon after our arrival in Stonington due to weather issues on the roads back to his home in Wickford, RI.  We had a tasty lunch in Stonington, Tony's treat, at The Yellow House before Jan met him at the local library.  It was a treat to have a guest board although it was too brief a time to thoroughly enjoy his company as we would have liked.  Perhaps Tony can join us again as we travel south for the winter, we hope so.


This day was the first cruising day of what became many when VELOMER had no mechanical issues other than a brief event when the smoke alarm in the engine room went off after I sprayed "Belt Ease" onto the squealing alternator belt.    It was a comfort to know at least that this critical safety tool was working well.  I still make it a daily routine to do engine room checks while underway, looking at the temperature of the stuffing box, the vacuum gauge on the fuel line next to the Racor filters, the temps of various locations on the engine block and the alternator, the level of coolant and the charge indicator for the batteries.  All was well as it has almost always been, but this routine I perform 3-4 times a day is a comfort as we do not want to experience avoidable engine issues.  We run the Perkins 135 HP engine at a cruising speed of 6-7 knots, which is around 1,625 RPMs depending on seas and tide and occasionally run the engine up to 2000-2300 RPMs to clear the injectors and cylinders. 


And as a minor inconvenience, we also lost partial thrust force on the bow thruster (again) and I suspect I will need to dive on the new prop to check for obstructions.  After Tony left, I did just that and discovered that several of the blades on the prop were broken.  I noticed a slight noise as we left Clark's and suspect I had encountered something floating in the water just as I maneuvered away from the mooring pennant.  Fortunately, I had ordered a spare prop from Imtra in Hingham, so it was only necessary to change this.  I was able to access the prop, using snorkel gear and with PM handing me tools and parts from the foredeck 6 feet above in a cleverly designed tool bag.  After tightening the locknut securely, I reattached the zinc/aluminum anode, which was already showing slight deterioration and then tested the thruster.  All worked as intended,  We were good to go again.  As we encounter mechanical or electrical or navigation software issues on this adventure and find solutions, PM and I are gaining confidence that we can make repairs and diagnose issues as they arise, and we expect that will be a sometime need.  Its a boat, and boats have issues. 

Another Thruster Buster!

PM's Perspective -- Rhode Island to Connecticut

Our time in Rhode Island included two nights at a mooring at Clark's Boatyard in Jamestown, then two nights at a slip in Wickford, followed by four more nights at a Clark's Boatyard.  This gave us the opportunity to check on Phoebe and Erik's sailboat Swiftwater at Clark's and to reprovision thanks to Tony Stapleton's willingness to drive us around to Dave's Market and the wine store in Wickford. The Wickford marina was delightful with a hot tub and very welcoming residents.  While there, we were invited to join in the memorial celebration of the lives of Richard and Barbara Miller, long term residents of the marina who passed away recently.  The celebration included a delicious feast prepared by a four-star chef.  We were regaled with stories about Dick and Barbara as told by the other residents and the Miller's daughter.  They were people who obviously loved life and lived to the fullest.  Good role models for us all.

Mooring at Clark's gave us the opportunity to explore Jamestown, located on an island in Narragansett Bay.  We biked out to the Beavertail Lighthouse, originally built in 1749, and learned bout the ravages of the Storm of 1938 that caused the death of several children when the causeway was washed out just as the school bus was crossing.   Only two persons, the bus driver and one of the lighthouse keeper's children, survived the ordeal.  The buildings on the site, now a state park, house the lighthouse museum, gift shop and small aquarium which focuses on local underwater species.  During our visit, the waterfront was dotted with fishermen hoping to catch the big one.

We circumnavigated the island also by bike and came across the Windmill, a wood-framed mill constructed in 1787 at the height of land that operated until 1896.  The mechanical workings of the mill are an engineering marvel. The mill itself has three levels, the top level of which is referred to as the bonnet which is domed and rotates to move the sails of the mill into the wind.  The mid level includes the hopper into which the grain was poured, and the bottom level contained two grinding stones each of which contained grooves.  We learned that the reason there are so few wood-framed windmills remaining is that if the wind became too strong while the mill was operating, the grinding stones became extremely hot and started a fire.  This is just another reason to be grateful for the harnessing of electricity!

Time to move on, and weather forecasts predicted rainy and windy conditions.  Tony boarded Monday night for an early departure on Tuesday, August 12.  After a wonderful evening of engaging conversation and watching the full moon rising, we headed to our berths with visions of an early departure.  After an early breakfast on the fly bridge we released the mooring and headed to Stonington, a mere 32 nm away, by 7:00 AM.  During departure Bob felt a thunk-clink when he used the bow thruster, not a good sign!

The five-hour trip to Stonington was a pleasant passage with northwest winds and some mild chop.  While picking up our mooring at Dobson's Boatyard, the bow thruster wasn't quite right and making an uncharacteristic noise.  What could be wrong this time?  We took the launch to shore to have lunch and explore Stonington a bit more.  We visited the public library, bought a few used books, and obtained some information about the town which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Stonington which took place August 9-12, 1814 when the British bombarded the town during the War of 1812 which obviously lasted more than one year.  Happy to report that the British were repulsed and the town suffered only the loss of one life -- that of an elderly woman who was terminally ill anyway.

After Tony departed, we delayed dealing with the bow thruster issue partly due to weather -- it rained all the next day -- and partly due to disbelief that we were having bow thruster issues once again.  I was thinking here goes another expensive haul out.  Bob was thinking he would snorkel and at least try to get an idea of what was wrong.  Bob retrieved his snorkel gear from the storage area at the stern of the boat accessed behind the headboard in our state room.  As he slipped into the water from the swim platform he said, "Wish me luck."  He swam along the port side of the boat to the bow and within moments popped up and said, "I found the problem."  The prop was missing two of its five blades, hence the odd noise.

Now the problem was figuring out how we fix it.  Fortunately Bob had the foresight to order two propellers last time so we had a replacement prop.  Bob decided he could replace the prop while snorkeling versus using scuba equipment.  Neither of us remembered what size nut held the prop in place so we collected a range of rachet driver sizes to make sure we bracketed the actual size.  Other tools were assembled.  Our bow deck looked like the operation room in a hospital with all the tools laid out.  Bob snorkeled down to do the work. I was on the bow passing him tools in a sandwich baggie tied to a line. I was sure something was going to fall into the water and sink into the ooze at the bottom of the harbor but all went remarkably well.  Bob returned to the swim platform and got on the boat.  Now the moment of truth.  We turned on the bow thruster.  It still made a funny noise, a different funny noise, but not quite right.  Bob then climbed into the bow and made some adjustments to the interior mechanisms.  That did the trick!  The bow thruster was working as intended once again.  Hopefully this is the last entry about the bow thruster.

The Kindness of Friends & Strangers

PM's Perspective -- The Abundance of Kindness

We are living in an abundant universe that never ceases to amaze me.  After three days at a mooring in Stonington, CT at Dobson's Boatyard we headed west through Long Island Sound toward Pequonnock Yacht Club in West Haven, a 50 nm day.  Our departure was no nonsense.  Up at 6:00 AM; coffee, fresh fruit and toast on the fly bridge by 6:10 AM; kitchen clean-up and morning chores at 6:30 AM; engine check by 6:45 AM; and departure just before 7:00 AM.  The sun was up and shining through the few clouds in the sky; the water was a welcomed flat calm.

I decided to seize the moment and take Velomer's helm.  Leaving and arriving at a dock or mooring is something I have been very hesitant to do, but weather and sea conditions could not have been more ideal.  Besides, Bob needed the practice of releasing a mooring to fully appreciate the process which can be slow.  We conferred on the fly bridge about the best way to remove the mooring lines from Velomer's bow cleats.  Bob was to remove the port side line first and fling it as far to the starboard and away from the boat, then the starboard side line.  I would use the bow thruster (now repaired, again!) to the port and head out meandering among the boats in the mooring field.  Everything went textbook smoothly.

Once out in the main channel we got on our charted course and spent a relatively uneventful seven hours punctuated by the occasional wind gust and unseen currents that pushed us slightly off course.  We timed our trip to take maximum advantage of the tide and benefited from as much as a two knot lift.  When we arrived at the Pequonnock fuel dock we were met by a very competent dock hand who tied us up.  As we signed in, I asked where the nearest grocery store was as we needed some provisioning.

A man on shore was listening to our conversation and said, "There really isn't any grocery store around here."  Then he asked, "What do you need?"  I replied, "Basically fruits and vegetables."  "What exactly?"  I said, "Bananas, apples, oranges, celery."  He walked away, got on a bike and rode off.  I didn't think any more of it until about an hour later when the dock hand gave me a grocery bag full of fruit and vegetables.  The dock hand had no idea who that man was.  What an incredible act of kindness!  I am in awe of and very touched by his kindness.  The really wonderful result of his action is that it encourages me to pass it forward in whatever way I can.

This incident jogged my memory in terms of all the other acts of kindness from both friends and strangers that have come into our lives.  A spontaneous hug from a grandchild, a bouquet of flowers, a gift of fresh food from the garden, picking up the tab at a restaurant, the gift of someone's company, offers of places to stay when in town, and the invitation to join in a memorial service feast.  We are truly blessed!

Easing Into The Cruising Lifestyle

PM's Perspective -- Easing Into The Cruising Lifestyle

Now that our three crises (GPS not working, clogged sewer pipe, and malfunctioning bow thruster) are behind us, we are beginning to enjoy the cruising lifestyle.  While in Plymouth, we stayed at a slip at Brewer's Marina where we spent time with Jim and Carla, owners of the sailing vessel Shadowfax, a 37' Island Packet.  Oddly enough, Jim and Carla live in Denver, Colorado and keep their boat at a marina in Wickford, RI. Carla and Jim rented a car and were kind enough to invite me to come along to the supermarket to reprovision, a treat I couldn't pass up.

We used our four night stay in Plymouth to catch our breath (both of us), catch up on some boat maintenance and cleaning (mostly Bob), and explore the local area (mostly PM).  Once again, Bob and I experienced that when working together we perform a much better job than either of us could do on our own.  Bob decided to recaulk the space between the teak trim and the fiberglass on the front face of the fly bridge.  Ever since we bought Velomer, brown streaks were showing up down the exterior of the cabin at the rear of the boat.  These streaks appeared to be leaching tannin and difficult to remove as they stained the fiberglass.  Three long runs needed recaulking.  The first run Bob did by himself using the caulking gun while I was out on one of my walks.  I didn't stay out long enough and when I returned I saw that the line did not look pretty.  It was much too thick and gloppy.  Removing the excess caulking was very tedious and painstaking.  There had to be a better way.  I recommended using painter's tape which we have aboard.  We taped the second run, Bob recaulked using much less than before.  This looked pretty good but we left the tape on just a bit too long so the edges looked a bit raggedy to our eyes.  However, it was good enough!  The third run came out perfect.  We are happy to report that the brown streaks appear no more!

While on one of my several walks through town, I heard this voice behind me saying, "PM, PM!"  I looked behind to find Katie Turner, baby Eleanor in her stroller, and Emma, Katie's friend from the UK who was visiting for a few days helping them sail.  The four of us spent a delightful hour or so together.  Just in the last few days, Eleanor has begun to walk. Katie was concerned that living on a sailboat would hinder Eleanor's walking development.  Not to worry!  Eleanor just loves her new found skill and is quite adept at it.  You go girl!  I so enjoy witnessing such events and seeing the look of accomplishment on the face!

On July 29, 2014 (remember that date!) under sunning skies we left Plymouth heading for Kingman Yacht Center in Pocasset on the southwest shore of Cape Cod.  I was at the helm and took Velomer through the Canal without using the autopilot.  This really gave me the opportunity to feel the response time between the movement of the helm and the reaction of the boat.  The tide was going with us and we benefited from a 4 knot lift from the tide.  We were the last boat through the canal before the railroad bridge came down.  We picked up a mooring at KYC.  At the time we came through the canal, little did we know that we did so on the 100th anniversary of the opening of the canal.  That night from our mooring, we watched a phenomenal display of fireworks in celebration.

Our three days at KYC gave us the time to do laundry,  ride our bikes along the Cape Cod Canal, visit the canal's Visitor's Center where we bought activity books for Tryg and Ani, lunch at Cafe Chew and explore the Town of Sandwich.  Our next major decision was where do we go next?  After visiting the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship in Boston, the only logical place was New Bedford, the whaling capital of America and the starting point of the Pequod's final voyage.  Bob called ahead for mooring information and found a great deal at Bayliner Shipyard, a mooring for a mere $25/night.  The only problem was the mooring balls have no pennants (lines that extend from the mooring ball to the boat).  Boaters need to supply their own pennants.  Fortunately, KYC has an incredible parts department (as well as exquisite shipyard staff) that were able to fashion one for us.  The problem was how to figure out how to pick up the mooring without a pennant.

Bob's View:

CLARK'S MARINA, Jamestown, RI

  Courses:      1) Hingham to Plymouth
                      2) Plymouth to Pocasset
                      3) Pocasset to New Bedford
                      4) New Bedford to Jamestown
                      5) Jamestown to Wickford
                      6) Wickford to Jamestown

  Seas:          Less than 2 feet, mostly wakes and some Bertha (the hurricane that passed several hundred miles offshore) rollers in Narragansett Bay
  Weather:    Sun and clouds, wind S to SSW- 10-15 knts, gusts to 25 knts
  Distance run: 1) 35.6 (N)
                        2) 34.4 (N)
                        3) 19.8 (N)
                        4) 28.9 (N)                    
                        5) 9.6   (N)
                        6) 13.4 (N)

As you may note, we have been remiss in keeping up with our blog for the last 6 cruising days.  I account this to the smooth operations and enjoyable days at sea.  The only navigation issue of note was the thick fog along the south coast of Massachusetts into Narragansett Bay as we passaged from New Bedford to Jamestown last week.  This was eerie, to say the least.  We saw only white around us and nothing else all day except the occasional navigation buoy and that only when we were close enough to spot it.  Using the GPS, we were able to follow a good course along the coast.  After five hours of mesmerizing nothingness while keeping vigilant for other boaters without radar (or a seaman's knowledge of basic safety while navigating in thick fog) and as we entered Narragansett Bay at Bretton Reef just outside Newport and made a 90 degree course change to the north, we finally saw several boats within about 100 feet passing us port to port.  Our radar was on but not much use as it is located at the lower helm station; PM was on the intercom giving me updates on targets while I saw absolutely nothing but white haze from the flybridge.  This experience makes us commit to a radar upgrade, a $2,300 Christmas gift, for a Garmin 18 HD that can integrate with the chart plotter.

This was the day of my Uncle John's service in Cincinnati.  We paused for awhile in the fog off New Bedford to remember him and recall some of the events I had shared with him over his years.  He was my godfather, he was also the reason I joined the navy as a corpsman during the Vietnam War. While I was trying to find a way for myself as a 17 year old soon to graduate high school directionless teen, he had arranged for me to work in the Bethesda Hospital OR in Cincinnati.  This was not a glamorous job, my first day as I was in the OR, I was handed a leg that had been amputated and told to deal with this.  What do you do with a leg?  Certainly it was medical waste, but also a significant body part.  I found my way to the morgue on the lowest level and wrapped the leg in a plastic sheet and a surgical gown, I then reverently placed this limb on a shelf in the refrigerated storage space meant for corpses.  I do not know what occurred after that, perhaps the coroner was perplexed also, and spent hours searching for the rest of the body. 

Uncle John led an interesting life, serving during WWII in the Pacific theater as a medical officer, as a surgeon in Cincinnati after the war, and raising 5 of the most incredible great kids, my cousins, whom I always felt were more like brothers and sisters.  As we paused to honor his memory, the fog thinned, then cleared around us.  We had bluebird blue sky above us and sunshine bathed VELOMER with a crystal light.  It was only for about 10 minutes and the only time all day we were able to see the ocean and sky.  I believe Uncle John wanted to see us clearly to bid adieu.

Making our way so slowly south and west along the coast these past days has been a particularly enjoyable time for us.  PM and I have truly become boat people, leaving our land personas behind.  Our days are without schedules, commitments, deadlines or responsibilities other than staying safely afloat.  We eat when we are hungry.  We even nap in the afternoon when at a mooring (PM often naps at sea anytime she feels the sea wooing her into somnolence).  We daily attend to several routines of engine maintenance, small repairs and ship cleaning.  Now that the GPS is working, the bow-thruster is working (and I am still waiting for the contact from Jim Peterson at Spring Point Marine about responsibility for this issue), and the rear head is working, our focus is simply enjoying each day surrounded by water and appreciating the wonder of life and entertainment the sea affords us to observe.  I recall being surprised to learn it was Tuesday as we landed by launch in New Bedford.  I thought it was Friday, as it really mattered.

I should comment on PM's boat skills.  She took VELOMER through the Cape Cod Canal with ease. This on a tide that was moving us along with a 3-4 knot lift.  She contacted Canal Control to alert them of our impending passage at the Bourne railroad bridge at the west end of the canal, they addressed her as captain, a title she has surely achieved.  As a result, they held the bridge up to allow us a safe passage and we were the last boat to do so as a train approaching the canal from the mainland requires them to shut down navigation for a half hour.  I noted that several large sailing vessels behind us were challenged to station keep while the train passed.  We passed into Buzzards Bay and encountered some steep sided seas as the tide and wind were opposed at this time.  It was not at all the experience we had the last time we passed through the canal a year ago.  We had read our Eldridge Tide Tables and timed our passage to be earlier in the day this year, before the afternoon seas are really exciting.  Turning into Pocasset Harbor, we took the meandering course around Bassett's Island to arrive at Kingman Marine.  We would spend a few days here, riding our bikes along the canal and enjoying a the peace of a secure anchorage with fresh coffee daily ashore.  Our passage south from this point will be in warmer waters so fog would not be an issue, or so we thought.  We have learned to take each day as it comes and cope as necessary with the challenges of seas and weather.

PM is writing about some of our days so I will let her expound on these in her unique way.