Florida to Maine 2006

Iris got up at 6:30 and noted that the boat felt quite warm. The air-conditioning wasn't running. She turned on the fridge - nope that wasn't working either. Both got turned off immediately, as the systems share the same thru-hull and we definitely had a clog. So much for our departure time. Our unclogging drill in marinas is quite effective - Fred runs a water hose to the thru-hull, removes the basket (usually filled with some unpleasant object - eg jelly fish), and blasts the clog out. We were 'up and running' again by 7:30, said our goodbyes to Bob and K and loosed the lines right at 8:30!

It was a windless day and extremely hot - part of the heat wave gripping the entire east coast. We motored through the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers - but even the breeze generated by our motion was unpleasant. The poor cats remained motionless below-decks, cooled slightly by the fans we kept running in the salon. Fred had a brief VHF conversation about anchorages with another sailboat, Jewel. They were the folks who had dinghied over in Wrightsville Beach. They too were Norfolk bound, but on a slower schedule.

Mid-afternoon we were 'attacked' by biting black flies. Out came the trusty flyswatter. Iris and Fred fought over it as they defended themselves from the onslought! The cockpit looked like a battleground riddled with bodies after we were through. We've been looking for new to us anchoring spots on this trip - so decided to head into Slade Creek, near ICW Mile-marker 140, just short of Belhaven. It was a slightly tense, GPS-enabled entry as both sides of the channel had depths of 1'-2'. And visibility is non-existent in the wine-red waters. There were only a few homes along the banks, only one of which had cars (and later, lights on). We anchored around 6:30pm, had dinner, and tried to cool the boat from 97 degree interior temperature to about 87 with the a/c. The water temperature was close to 90 degrees as well, but the refrigerator/freezer managed to do its job. Fred planned tomorrow's route - Little Alligator River anchorage was our next target - also new to us.

We were able to sleep through the quiet night, helped by the fans' air motion. For the second day the skies were very hazy, purportedly due to Saharan dust that reached the US. We got underway, continuing up the ICW, at around 7:45, seeing only 3 or 4 boats the entire way. Iris noticed that 2 of the dodger's zippers were breaking. Foolishly, she'd decided not to bring either the light-duty Singer or heavy-duty sailrite sewing machines with us. The dodger is secure, but should we have to remove it for hurricane prep, we probably will be unable to put it back on without some serious hand-sewing! Bad decision.

Mid-afternoon, like clockwork, the flies renewed their attack but we ultimately prevailed. Fred spoke briefly with another sailboat as we approached the Alligator River Bridge. They were Chesapeake bound - and altho' their home port was Wickford, RI - they'd never been there (RI has no sales tax on boat purchases - many boats with home ports of RI or Delaware, have documented the vessels for tax avoidance). They'd purchased in Ft. Lauderdale, spent a season in the Abacos, Bahamas and Hilton Head, and now were northward bound. Anyway - they were under sail and moving very slowly. We said we'd slow down to allow them to go through the bridge with us. But instead of taking down their sails and moving along, they slowed due to lack of wind. We told the bridge we were waiting for them and hung around awhile. Suddenly the bridge started to open and told them (the 2nd sailboat) that if they didn't move it, they weren't going to make the bridge with us. We scurried on through, and they finally dropped their sails and powered through.

Every other time we'd anchored in the Alligator River we'd used a trip line. Given our Waccamaw River adventure, we were gun-shy and decided to forego the float. The anchor set well - Fred asked "did we just drag and then grab a stump or something?". Iris, with foot on the chain, didn't think so. We decided that would be tomorrow's problem and didn't worry about it. After dinner, we partook of cockpit showers using the cold (86 degree) water. Shortly after, the water got quite choppy. It never was clear why, as the wind direction was from over land, and there wasn't much current. But throughout the night we hobby-horsed in about 1' chop. Not our worst night by far, but slightly unpleasant. We ran the generator for air and fridge and brief respite for the hot cats. 3 choices for tomorrow's travels - 1) stop in Coinjock for a short day 2) keep on going to Great Bridge and hope the bridge schedules oblige 3) try the Dismal Swamp route. #2 was our original plan. #3 has been an option we'd rejected each previous trip. While the Dismal Swamp route is open and beautiful, we once again struggled with the max depth of 6' in the center of the channel when we draw 5.5'. We decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning - setting alarms for 6am in case we decided to do the Dismal Swamp.

Hot! Hot! Iris moved to the settee around 12am. The fan was too loud there as well so she just turned on the light and started rereading all the info on the Dismal Swamp. She'd almost convinced herself that it was only 20 miles of shallow water and that the beauty would overcome the shallow water. At 2:30am she turned off the fan and tried to sleep.

Up bright and early at 6am. Fred's first words to Iris were "We shouldn't do the swamp - sorry you got up so early". We agreed that if we had a 6' draft sailboat, we wouldn't even have been agonizing over this.

No snag - the anchor came up smoothly at 7:45am. We had an uneventful trip northbound. A trawler, Deborah, passed us before Coinjock and waved their red fly swatter; we saluted back with our yellow one! We were to see Deborah several more times during the day. They had a bad radio and some of the bridges (and we) had difficulty talking with them. It was very early when we got to Midway Marina (with signs advertising free wi-fi) so we decided to forge ahead. Frosty had a couple of seizures during the day - mid-day Fred went below and she exhibited the normal post-siezure friendliness and hunger. The heat has to be having a negative effect on her.

We made it through the last bridge at 6pm and tied up to the Great Bridge free-dock at around 6:30pm - we were alone except for about 30 minutes when a family in a small power boat stopped briefly. Later in the evening a few fishermen were crabbing and fishing off the dock.

After a nice dinner, Fred checked on the engine. Oh no! The back bilge was filled with water. Fred found that a small bolt that he'd picked up in the bilge the previous day had held a clamp on a pipe feeding the raw water pump on the engine. The copper pipe abraded and now had a hole in it - thus the flood. Fred dug through spare parts in the v-berth to find some air-conditioning water hose that would just fit over the pipe and he then struggled to slip the hose over the pipe. Meanwhile, Frosty got in the way trying to get into the engine room and Fred yelled at her to keep her out. Shortly thereafter, she howled and went into a grand-mal seizure. The stress had to have had an impact. More valium for her. We determined that we needed a marina and needed to order spares. Fred tested his jury-rig by running the engine and no water spewed out - a good sign. He went to bed telling Iris that he might need to stay in the engine room all the way to Norfolk while she'd have to get us through the lock and bridges. Not what she wanted to hear. Let's hope his fix lasts!

Iris was able to find a wi-fi connection from Atlantic Yacht Basin across the channel and had a pretty good internet connection til late in the night.

Iris awoke to a siezure by Frosty around 3am. Then she got up at 6 as the cats made it clear they wanted breakfast. Frosty had another mild seizure about 30 minutes after her meds. We untied from the dock at 7:45, went through the 8am Great Bridge Bridge opening and were the only boat in the lock. Iris called Ocean Marine to make a reservation. We'd stayed there before and liked the facilities. They also advertised that they were a Volvo parts dealer (and they have a boatyard) so we'd have a chance that the part may be available. Their website also advertised wi-fi - as did Waterside in Norfolk. As we got through the final Norfolk area bridges, the marine police boats were very visibly patrolling the waters. We hailed Ocean Marine and went to the fuel dock for a fill-up and pump-out. We then went into our slip 'home' for the next few days. It was on A-dock - which turns out has many liveaboards on large motor yachts. It's known as the party dock and for good reason. The 'community' would line up their chairs, bar, grills, tables (blocking our path to/fro our boat) and party into the wee hours. Friendly, but not our cup of tea.

The wi-fi, turns out, was quite unreliable, probably because our slip was very far from the building antennas. But the facilities were as we recalled them - nice showers, laundry room and the ferry to Norfolk ($1/way) was only a block away. We hung around Windwalker and enjoyed the air-conditioning for the remainder of the afternoon - doing some clean-up chores. Fred looked up the part numbers for the Volvo parts and Iris called the parts department to order them. Turns out that Ocean Marine is a gas engine (not diesel) dealer - so they had to order the parts from a distributer. We asked that they be shipped overnight so that we'd get them on Monday. A severe thunderstorm around 5:30pm heralded the break in the heat-wave. The cats were thrilled to sit in front of the air-conditioning vent in the aft stateroom. We ate dinner aboard and then went for a short walk at around 9pm.

Chores in the morning - Fred changed the oil, Iris vacuumed and cleaned below. We did a quick look at the weather for Tues on out - another front and/or light winds are predicted. After lunch we decided to catch the 1:30 ferry to Norfolk. Our first stop was a marine bookstore that advertised in our cruising guides (and that we'd walked by in the past). Closed on weekends. Next was the mall - where we bought a couple of books (for Fred), a hand-held Sudoku generator for Iris, and a USB-wireless adapter for our laptop - so that we could move the antenna around without having to take the laptop outside. Next, we decided to walk towards the Nauticus museum/USS Wisconsin - stopping at the Provision Market. We'd gone to the market on past trips and been able to buy several provisioning items. Unfortunately, the store has changed in 4 years and had minimal useful items - no vegetables/fruits/meats. We bought a loaf of bread and kept on walking. We stopped at the Wisconsin and once again walked its decks. Then we headed back to Waterside, walking by the Norfolk Jazz Festival, recalling that we'd been here the same weekend 4 years ago - with the same Jazz Festival. We'd planned to eat dinner at Waterside - but it was only 4:20, we weren't hungry and didn't want to just 'kill time'. So we ran and caught an outgoing ferry, returning to Portsmouth. In search of diet coke, we walked to a pharmacy several blocks away which had been closed on Fri night, and just before their closing, were able to buy a couple of cartons. Lugging all of our purchases back to the boat, we played with our toys briefly and then headed to La Tolteca, the Mexican restaurant next to the ferry dock. 4 years ago the restaurant had just opened and we enjoyed it immensely. Things had gone a bit down-hill in the interim. The server's service was sporadic, the bus-boy seemed to have difficulty keeping up with the few tables. Iris' carne asada was a bit on the dry side. But the food was tasty, the view was great and the desserts were fantastic. We watched as crowds got off the ferry headed to the amphitheatre right next to Ocean Marine - where a concert by Widespread Panic (a southern rock group) was scheduled for the evening. Boat streamed by as well - all headed in our direction.

We negotiated the chair slalom as we returned to our dock. By now the dock was strewn with beer cans and the group was pretty happy ;-). Back onboard, we listened to the concert from the cockpit. Frosty had been in a great mood all day - probably a precursor for a mild seizure at 8:15. Another small dose of valium for her.

Iris got up early (the cats are on a definite schedule) and got the Sunday paper. We headed to the Renaissance Hotel (near the north ferry dock) for buffet breakfast - served by a young lady named Paulina from Cracow, Poland. We recalled all the eastern-european servers we encountered on our last trips, primarily in New England establishments. Kids come over for the summer, have a US experience, get lots of tips and go home back to college. We watched our news shows and read the paper. Iris checked out the laundry room - empty machines were just too good an opportunity to pass up so she dashed back to the boat to collect our clothes. No one else did a wash - perhaps most of the liveaboards have machines onboard their massive yachts.

At around 3:30 we decided to head to the Portsmouth Visitor's Center to pick up a walking tour map of Portsmouth Olde Town. Many of the homes in the district date back to the late 1700s to early 1800s. We were able to get a tour of the Hill House, built in around 1807 and remaining in the family until the mid-1960s when it was donated to the preservation society. Remarkable in that the furnishings were all original and period appropriate to the house. Totally documented. Lafayette and several presidents had visited the family - altho' none had 'slept there' ;-). We walked around looking at exteriors of other homes in the area. Most were of the English basement style. The government only taxed property on the size of the first floor (known as basement). So homes were 2-4 stories high and narrow to minimize ground-level square footage.

Back to the boat for dinner, showers, and another Widespread Panic concert - much less well-attended than Sat. night. Fred planned the waypoints for our passage to RI while Iris struggled with the wi-fi connection and began work on the website. Should the correct part arrive tomorrow afternoon, we plan to leave the marina on Tuesday morning and then wait for weather in the anchorage at Willoughby Bay about 7 miles away.

Up at our normal cat time, we did some more chores and awaited our part. Iris worked on the website. We confirmed that the parts had arrived at the distributor and were told to pick them up around 2pm. Eager, we got there early but the parts hadn't arrived yet. The pipe was the correct part, although the lip seals Iris had also ordered ended up being the wrong size (Fred was on the wrong page in the parts book). Perhaps we can exchange them at one of our regular Volvo diesel dealers either in Annapolis or back in West Palm Beach). Fred put in the new part and tested the engine. Now - we have to seriously look at the weather. Can we leave on Tuesday directly from the marina? First glance looks like we'll encounter two frontal passages as well as mostly northerly winds. Waiting a day may help a little with the strength of the winds and wave size - but we'll probably be doing a lot of motor-sailing nonetheless.... We'll file a float plan with family, no matter which we day we decide to leave........Next stop, hopefully, Newport, RI.

Prior to leaving Ocean Marine, Iris called our mail store to have our mail sent to Fred's sister Kathie in RI. We were hoping to arrive in Newport on Friday so requested 3-day UPS. We left the marina at 9:20am motor-sailing for Willoughby Bay - a spot we'd used for staging for passage out of the Chesapeake previously. Enroute we heard military police on channel 16 demanding a couple of boats to change course because they were entering military zones. They were not identifying the boats by name but saying that if they didn't alter course they would be fired upon. Boaters were piping in on channel 16 and say 'who are you talking to?'. We too were getting agitated. A police boat came zooming by us and we figured some kind of fireworks were going to ensue. However the police boat hailed the military boat and said "Do you require assistance?" The MPs responded that they were doing a drill. The police replied that perhaps they should move to a different channel as they were alarming all the traffic on 16. From then on, we heard no more about military zones and fire!

Dolphins accompanied us into the bay. Our plans were to start our passage the following morning, so we spent a quiet afternoon. Fred checked out our weatherfax/SSB/laptop arrangement since both our laptop and weatherfax software had been upgraded since last we cruised. OK. Around 2:30 we had a heavy line of thunderstorms. Iris neglected to dog the ports tightly and discovered water streaming into the salon and galley from unusual spots. Wet settee cushions - however freshwater was better than salt would have been. Like last time here, we were the only ones anchored - watching late afternoon small boat races as we prepared for passage. Late in the evening we emailed our float plan from Norfolk to RI and agreed that neither of us is enamored of passages. It's just the fastest way to get from point a to point b. We did have great tv and cellphone signals at Willoughby so we were able to get an update on the news and handle last-minute correspondence.

Iris got up at 5:50 am wanting another weather update before beginning our passage. What a change in a few hours. A strong cold-front was predicted for Thursday night through Saturday with northerly winds for Wed. We'd have to motor into the northerly then get hit with pretty strong SW winds with the frontal passage. Decisions - go? Wait? Do something else? We decided to keep moving up the Chesapeake. Iris picked out an anchorage for tonight, Fred went to do the route plan while Iris sent emails to abort our float plan. We also told our family that we didn't know where we'd next have cell-phone coverage. With all our scurrying around we still raised anchor by 8:15 and began our northerly trek. We made 57 miles, mostly motorsailing with the wind on our nose. There was a lot of ship traffic, but we stayed out of the channel. Our wild-life sightings consisted of some dolphins and more battles with flies.

At one point, while diverting for a ship, Iris remarked that last night she'd had flashing images of a huge ship bow that we were about to collide with. But she'd forgotten about it and it had no part in deciding to abort our float plan. Fred responded that he too had a nightmare about getting struck by a ship. Perhaps it was a good thing that we weren't going by our original route....

We anchored in a very pretty creek. Homes were nestled in the woods. We were tired and stopped near the entrance, but purportedly further up the creek the scenery became even more natural with no home sites. We anchored by 6. We also determined that we had a new kind of problem - our dripless shaft seal bellows was taking in air when we would heel - removing water from the seal - which resulted in overheating of the shaft and a squealing noise. Fred burped the bellows (after the shaft had cooled) and tried the engine and the squeal was gone. As we suspected - there would be no cellphone coverage and not even any tv signals on the creek. Our plan for tomorrow was to get to Mill Creek on the Patuxent River - it would be repeating an anchorage however the distance was right and it was a secure spot for a frontal passage.

It was a gray morning and there were a lot of jelly-fish (sea-nettles) floating by as we raised anchor at 7:45. The wind was more favorable and we were able to sail all day once we got to the main channel. But while the sailing was good, it poured most of the day and despite our foulies, we were pretty wet. As we approached Solomons, we were hailed by an Island Packet named Winddancer out of Corpus Christi, TX. They had seen the Valiant, Rima, and the captain thinks he's spoken with Bob a couple of times. Iris was able to get cell coverage earlier in the day and called her mother to let her know where we were. Good thing, because this Mill Creek also didn't have any cell coverage. We anchored in mud with a lot of chain out, expecting the front tonight. Not a great set since it was mud, however other than another small sailboat in the middle of the cove, we weren't concered. A bowl of hot soup took off the chill as we relaxed in the late afternoon. Quiet night with little traffic going to the upper reaches of the creek.

Iris had a rough night, waking up at 3 am, feeling ill. We'd turned to the north. Frosty was in an extremely mean mood and kept attacking Dusty. Anchor up at 8am. Oops - the shackle was sideways on the swivel. Iris hates when it does that - but a sharp pull on the swivel freed it. Tons of mud imbedded in the chain and on the anchor - it took awhile with the deck wash to ensure that most of it didn't end up in the anchor locker! The other boat was making ready to depart as well - we noted that it was a single-hander, female on a boat named Circe. The forecast was quite unpleasant but we decided to head out into the bay and check it out. Worst that could happen would be that we'd return to this anchorage or one further upstream for another day.

Fred took the helm for most of the day. The winds were from the north and fairly strong and gusty and there was a lot of chop. The autopilot was struggling, we were closed-hauled and making good progress despite the conditions. We took water over the rail quite a few times as we heeled all the way. We'd picked some earlier anchorages but decided to head on to Whitehall Bay, just north of Annapolis but just short of the Chesapeake Bay bridges. As we approached, the shaft once again began to squeal and Fred stopped the engine, burping the bellows. As before, this fixed the problem. We kept our distance from the only other boat anchored in the bay when we arrived at 6pm. By nightfall, several other boats had arrived. We had good cell-phone and tv coverage. The boat rocked from wakes from the bay - but those also abated early in the night. In total, we'd glad we hadn't holed up for the frontal passage and 'wasted' a day.

Another bad night for Iris, awakening at 4:30 feeling ill. When it was time to get up at 6 - she couldn't do it and stayed in 'til 6:30! Our goal for the day was to get to Veazey Cove on the Bohemia River with plans to head through the Delaware Bay potentially direct from there the following day. We raised anchor at 7:30 and motored north - once again into large chop and strong north winds. This was slightly uncomfortable here in the bay, but if we had gone offshore it would have been extremely so in big waves. Not a lot of boats out for a Saturday morning! By late morning the seas had flattened out and we started to make good progress. Now what are our options? We were going to get to Veazey pretty early - should we continue up the C&D Canal to Summit North Marina and get fuel/water and relax for the night? We'd staged return trips to the Chesapeake from New England there. Should we stop earlier in the canal, such as Chesapeake City and get some fuel at Schaeffer's Canal House? We'd feel better if we started a passage with full tanks. Iris called the marina - Summit North had no fuel - some kind of problems with their tanks. But she made a tentative reservation with them anyway. Next we overheard someone on the radio asking for nearest fuel in the area as there didn't seem to be any on the canal. We wondered - what about the Canal House? Iris called a marina that carried diesel just near Veazey - but their approach depth was tricky and the dockmaster didn't give us a good feeling we could get to the fuel dock. She then tried calling the Canal House - the phone number had been disconnected. We spied the bridges at Havre de Grace in the distance and Iris exclaimed "why don't we go to Havre de Grace - if nothing else, for fuel?" We took a sharp left out of the channel and made our way to the small town we'd visited back in 1999. Tidewater Marina, where we'd stayed that time, was completely full for the night. They referred us to a marina next door. No answer. On a second try, Iris got the dockmaster - a lady named Thalia. We gave her an estimated arrival of 3pm and told her we'd also want fuel and she said to call her on her cell phone. She'd be wearing an orange t-shirt and be out on the docks. She described the approach - a small opening in a breakwater in front of some gray condos with no signeage.

As we approached the marina, we decided that we'd head to Tidewater for fuel first. We're quite careful about trying to get fuel from marinas that turn over a lot of volume. Our first glance at the docks in front of us led us to believe our destination marina was not such a place ;-) But as we passed the breakwater to go to Tidewater, the next marina, we saw a lady waving like crazy from a fuel dock with a guy standing beside her doing the same. It was about 5 minutes before 3. Iris suggested that Fred keep on going to Tidewater, but he decided to turn around since they were waiting on us. Thalia tied us up at the fuel dock and things seemed to go downhill from there. She told us that we'd have to wait awhile for the pump to get primed since it was old. When we asked about Boat US discount - yes - for cash. Same for the slip. Fred wiped the nozzle and it came off black, but the fuel at least was pink. After we'd fueled, Thalia informed us that the slip we were assigned only had 4 1/2 feet of water at low tide and that they'd been having extreme low tides due to the north winds. "But we want to leave around 8 or 9 tomorrow for passage through Delaware Bay!" We checked the tides and low would be at 7 - so our ability to leave might be hindered. She said that the side-to tieup ahead of the fuel dock was reserved for a 50 foot boat that was due to have arrived by 2:30 - we could pull into that space and risk that he might still show up. If he didn't arrive by 5, it was ours. OK - we decide to stay tied up and wait awhile, cause we really didn't like the 4.5' deep slip. While we waited, Thalia went to try and reach the powerboat. We looked at the distance to power and water. Neither our power cord nor our water hose were going to reach. Would we have been better off at anchor?

By now the winds were up to about 20 knots, the floating docks were bobbing up and down, boats were having difficulty negotiating the entry into the marina and we were getting anxious. But amazingly enough - everything worked out. Thalia decided to move us to a close slip - whose 'owner' was away for the weekend. Our first attempt failed as the wind caught our bow and we started to move sideways down the marina. Fred did a great recovery and we got into the slip on our second try. Our hose and power cord reached and we were able to wash off the 1/4" of salt coating our decks and stanchions. Thalia told us where we could get to an ATM, gave us literature on the town, completed our check in and told us a little bit about herself. She and her partner (husband) took 18 years to circumnavigate in their 32' Westsail (parked right in front of us). We thanked her for her help and got to work getting cleaned up.

ATM found, some snacks purchased and sated after a pleasant dinner at MacGregors (seafood) Restaurant - we got back to the boat and discussed our options. If we left at 9:30am tomorrow, we could get the current and tides just right to get through the C&D canal, get through Delaware Bay and start on our passage to Newport, RI. We'd checked the weather (great cell-phone coverage in Havre de Grace!) and we'd have light SW winds, starting to get stronger over the 2 1/2 day passage. By Monday afternoon we'd have 10-20 knots with 4-6 foot waves behind us - seemed manageable. Seemed like a plan.

Iris got up early and did a weather check - the forecast seemed a bit worse but the window was holding. We heard something about 15-20 knots on Monday night with seas building 5-8'. Not dangerous, but not as nice as the previous description. Plan is still a go and Iris sent out float-plan emails. We always have an option to stop in Cape May or Atlantic City. Fred spent some time talking with Thalia and Bob (boatname Renaissance, out of San Francisco). Neat couple.

We headed out of the marina at 9:30. What a difference a day makes - the northern reaches of the bay were filled with boats. It was sunny, warm and the winds had died down. We entered the C&D canal and got a nice ride with the current. As we passed Schaeffer Canal House we noticed that the docks were roped off and the place was for sale. Good thing we didn't hope to buy fuel there. The current was giving us a good 4 knot lift as we sped through the canal, and by 2:15pm we reached the entrance to the Delaware Bay. At this point we still had 2 knots against us in the bay. Shipping traffic began almost immediately. Midway down the bay, a drilling ship, McFarland, headed west, suddenly stops and then started to turn around in the channel - pointing directly at us (1/4 mile out of the channel). Fred asked them 'are you turning around? what are your intentions?' Yes - we are turning to go to the offshore disposal area! They whipped in front of us headed towards the mouth of the bay. At around 10:30pm, while briefly having cell-phone coverage near Cape May, Iris called her mom with our location. We'd seen a beautiful sunset enroute, the air was quite cool and the water temperatures had dropped to 74 degrees! We felt cold and got colder - putting on sweatshirts and sweatpants and then our foulies on top of that. Instead of our normal watch schedule we both stayed up - the mouth of the bay is filled with ship traffic coming from all directions and trying to plot which ship was a threat when there are so many is very stressful. We both had binoculars out and pointed out various targets to each other. McFarland was still in the mix, turning around once more right before we left the bay. By now it was after 11pm and Fred took his normal watch, suggesting Iris go below and get some rest. We were motorsailing with just the main out.

We were on a course of 60 degrees, as was another sailboat a mile or two ahead of us. At around 3am, Iris tried to hail the vessel stating our name, course and trying to reach the boat now less than a mile in front of us. A guy answered - he too was on the same course - but in a powerboat. He asked for our location - Iris responded, and then he never came back. The sailboat remained silent. Meanwhile, the powerboat headed into Atlantic City. At around 5am Fred turned off the engine and we started to sail 'wing and wing'. We listened to the offshore forecasts which had gotten quite a bit worse. Now the winds were to be 15-25 knots with gusts to 30 knots with seas building to 5-8 and then 8-10'. This was going to be a sleigh ride. At around 11:30am we got down to just our mainsail and we were doing over 7 knots. The winds weren't too bad yet but we were bracing for worsening conditions. The winds were building and by 3pm winds were up to 20knots and seas were about 4'. By 6pm we had a pretty steady 20 knots behind us and the seas were about 4-8'. We reefed the main right before Iris' first watch and still were doing about 7 knots. Through most of the night we had about 7-8' seas with winds mostly 20 knots with 25 knot gusts. The motion was quite uncomfortable - but kitties and we were doing ok. The other sailboat was still within a mile or two of us. We wanted to slow down enough not to have to enter Block Island Sound (just east of Montauk Point on Long Island) in the dark. Last time we'd gotten there at dawn with hundreds of other targets (mostly fishing vessels) on their way out.

Dawn came, the seas remained high and occasionally we could see the other sailboat. However no one else was in sight. No fishing boats were crazy enough to be out this morning. RI and Long Island beaches were expecting 10-12 foot breakers. As we passed Block Island at 8:45am, Iris called her mother to close our float plan - we weren't in Newport yet but the worst was behind us. Visibility was less than 2 miles and after we passed Block Island it began to pour as the front passed. We were glad for fresh water to rinse off the boat! We picked up an assigned mooring at 1:30pm and our engine was off. We had never seen so few boats up and about in Narragansett Bay - it seemed like the middle of winter! But we were motionless at last......

We made plans to meet with our family members, Lynn and Don, staying in Newport this week for dinner. Then we spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning up the boat and ourselves and taking brief naps before taking the launch ashore. The four of us wandered about, wanting to try a new spot since we tended to go to familiar places. We stopped at The Rhode Island Quahog Company - Fred and Iris had missed the family lobster feast on Sunday so both had lobster dishes. Iris thought the place was ok - nothing special, but Fred enjoyed his lobster Scampi dish. Our return trip via launch took awhile - as a boatload of folks just sat there waiting for a driver. We didn't quite know where our boat was in the dark (or even in the light) - just the mooring number. So it took awhile for the launch to find our home. Iris wanted an internet fix and was pleased to see that we were close to Goat Island Marina and the Marina Grill. Restaurant had a good wi-fi signal. She browsed the internet to her heart's content.

We decided that at $3/person each way the launch wasn't for us. We pumped up the dinghy and launched it. Fred went off for a ride to make sure all was in order while Iris worked on chores. At around 10am the launch stopped by and the driver said "did they tell you you'd have to move today?" Nope - we paid for 3 days. Yes - but the 'owner' of the mooring is coming back and you have to move to rental mooring #7 by noon. Fred returned a short while later, we started up the engine and moved to our new spot. Closer to downtown. Alas - away from the wi-fi connection.... Fred changed the oil while Iris got in the dink and tried to remove engine exhaust stains and the ICW mustache from the hull - with minimal success. As she's mentioned before in the log - this is the only boating activity that has ever (and always does) get her seasick. Not a happy camper.

A little after noon we'd arranged to pick up Lynn and Don in the dinghy at Bowen's wharf (site of the public dinghy dock) and head across the bay to Marina Grill. We were meeting Fred's and Lynn's cousin, Bill, for lunch. It was a perfect day out and the view of the harbor was breathtaking. After a nice lunch, the five of us went back to Windwalker for a brief visit. Then Bill was ferried back to his car at Marina Grill and the four of us went back into Newport for dinner at the Red Parrot. We made plans to see Doris Duke's mansion, Rough Point, the following morning - accompanied by family Kathie and Ro. Fred also tried to contact a couple of high school buddies - successfully reaching one and not the other. We would also try and see him tomorrow afternoon. A full day planned!

The six of us met at the Newport Visitor's center downtown to purchase our tickets for Rough Point (which included a shuttle to the mansion) and to await the shuttle. We were on the 10:45am tour. None of us had seen this particular mansion in all these years - it had just opened to the public 7 years previously. Many stories had been told about Ms. Duke as Lynn, Kathie and Fred were growing up in Newport and these tales were not addressed on the tour. But she used some of her fortune to form a preservation society that has renovated and maintained over 80 homes in the area. She always planned to donate the mansion to the society and so furnished it with artwork appropriate to it's intended use as a 'museum'. The tour-guide was outstanding as were the views from the estate. Next on our agenda was luncheon at the Inn on Castle Hill. This is an absolutely beautiful site on the entrance to the bay where one can watch the boats come in and out from high on a cliff-top. Our table was on the lovely lawn, the food was perfect - as was the company. It was a delightful morning and afternoon!

Back in town, Lynn and Don dropped us off at our mandatory Newport stop - the Armchair Sailor (nautical bookstore). Most every cruising guide we have has been purchased there. The store was purchased by Bluewater Books in Ft. Lauderdale several years ago. While we had a lot of detail on the Chesapeake and Maine, we wanted to add to our information on Long Island Sound, CT, and MA. Our book choice was a compromise but every one of our books has come in handy sooner or later.

At around 5:30 we met Fred's friend Tom. The two of them hadn't really seen each other and caught up in over 30 years. We took him back to Windwalker - his wife, Jan, couldn't make it due to a conflict. After a couple of hours we returned to town, met Jan, and had a late, light dinner at Salas' restaurant. We finally dinghied back to the boat at around 10:30. We'd only signed up for 3 days on the mooring. In the morning we'll have to decide whether to leave for somewhere else or stay put.

Iris logged on early to check weather. Yep - there's a front coming through Sat night/Sunday. Heavy rains expected for Sunday. We're not likely to head for Mount Desert Island, ME by then and need to decide where we want to weather the front. During breakfast, we decided to extend here another day to take a tour and to do some provisioning. Kathie and Lynn had told us about a mansion tour that sounded fascinating - the 'rooftop' tour at The Elms. This is a tour of the infrastructure and servants' quarters of the mansion. So we called Oldport Marine to let them know we were staying, dinghied to town, wandered over to the visitor's bureau where we were unable to get tickets (altho' when Iris spoke with them earlier in the morning, they told her to go there rather than directly to the mansion). We headed to the Elms, got into the noon tour and enjoyed it a lot. We then had lunch at the Newport Creamery close by (another Newport ritual for us), and then went to the supermarket across the street to top off our provisions. We'd brought 4 of our largest canvas bags along with us on the tour along with our shopping list so we were ready. Fortunately, it's downhill from the market to the dinghy dock, albeit it's about 1/2 mile away.

Back at the boat - Iris prepped the meats and vegetables/fruits for storage - removing packaging and preparing items so that minimal water would be needed and minimal trash when the product is used. Fred meanwhile, looked at options for getting to Maine. We're a little behind schedule and need to get moving. On the other hand, we want to stay put on Saturday and Sunday during the frontal passage. Since we're going to go somewhere tomorrow in any case, we did a 'final' trash run to town, snacked on some ice cream (we'd had dinner). Iris worked on the website, Fred did some trip-planning and we went to bed knowing we'd do something tomorrow but not what!

Iris got up with the cats at 6am. She got the weather and the forecast wasn't great - we decided to stay another day and called it in to the dockmaster. Fred finished updating the website. After lunch and some time reading in the cockpit, we headed ashore. First stop was the Seaman's Church Institute - a Newport fixture catering to people who work the seas - we bought shower tokens ($2/10 minutes including towel). Putting off our showers until after our walk, we headed in search of a church whose steeple we'd seen from the harbor and couldn't identify. It ended up being a Unitarian Church right next to Touro Park. We walked part of the Cliff Walk, from the 40 steps to the beach, then returned via the Oldport Marine office to settle up for the mooring. Last was our showers at the institute prior to dinghying back to the boat. Fred spent the remainder of the evening working on our route plan while Iris did a handwash of underwear and rags. We were visited by the owners of MoonSail, a Catalina-built Morgan 38. They'd left Kemah TX in 2005.

A final check of the weather remained so-so. If it's not pouring in the morning, perhaps we should leave - target 7:30am tomorrow. We read until bed-time in a salon strung with lines hanging wet laundry.

Clothes everywhere - wet clothes! Iris got up at 5:30 due to wind and cat noises. The cats fed, she started moving laundry around for better drying. It was gray outside but not raining. At 6:30 it began raining. Turning on the tv at 7, we saw the weather radar - there was definitely a line of heavy rain but drying afterwards. Winds were expected to be quite strong (20-25 knots) but from the southwest - advantageous to us. We decided to leave and dropped the mooring at 9:40, now 2 hours behind our original schedule. Many other boats had the same idea. Winds out of Narragansett Bay were on the nose and we bashed into 4-5' waves - taking on more water than we'd had any other time on the trip. Unfortunately, we'd removed the duct tape covering our vetus ventilator for passages and much of that water streamed into the v-berth. Yuck!

Once we made the turn heading northwards, we raised sail and made good time doing 7 kts or more under sail. Most of the other boats looked like they were headed to Cuttyhunk while we forged ahead towards Onset - the last anchorage prior to the Cape Cod Canal. Pulling into the channel to Onset we hailed Onset Bay Marina to see if they had a mooring available. No - all full. While the harbormaster suggested a yacht club that might have a mooring, we opted to anchor right outside the mooring field. What a lovely evening. Just as we were glad we'd left Mill Creek (on the Patuxent) rather than waiting for weather, we once again felt that leaving Newport was the right decision. As we ate dinner in the cockpit, a large catamaran came into the harbor and anchored next to us. A brightly lit excursion boat playing loud ragtime selections came by later in the evening, - somewhat of a change in mood, although brief. After dark, we took advantage of a good cellphone (and thus) internet connection to do another check of the weather (a frontal passage is expected tonight) and handle email. Our plan for tomorrow was to go through the Cape Cod Canal with favorable current at 7am, spend the following night in Provincetown and then do an overnight passage to Northeast Harbor, ME.

We were up before 6 as the cats are getting up earlier and earlier due to the earlier sunrise further north. The front went through during the night and we now had light northerly winds. After a quick breakfast, we began our 'raise anchor' drill. Fred raises the chain up to 50 feet while Iris stays in the v-berth flaking the chain. Then she goes on deck to complete the operation. This prevents chain castles and jams. Fred was only raising the chain about a foot at a time. When Iris got on deck he informed her that something was wrong with the windlass 'up' air-switch. But the chain needed washing anyway, so the slow pace wasn't an issue. We'd have to do some debugging before we anchored again - but our plans were to pick up moorings in Provincetown and NE Harbor.

The current pushed us into a right angle turn in the canal at 7:20. We raced along at about 10 knots with the tide and then once out of the canal, motored on to Provincetown with not enough wind for sailing. We were on a mooring by noon. The next couple of hours were spent on lunch and chores before we hailed the launch (included) to take us to the dock. The launch attendant recommended Townsend Lobster (at the end of the dock) if we wanted a good dinner. They'd just brought in 300 lobsters earlier that morning! He explained that these were hard-shell and full wherease what we'd have in Maine (which we knew) would be softshell - sweet meat, but not as much of it.

Streets were crowded - mostly with families. We walked about town and then checked out Townsend. Dinner was casual and great - just what we'd hoped for. Our shower stop prior to an ice cream stop didn't work out so well for Iris. The 5 minute token operated shower was shooting more water out of the stall than in it - raining down on Iris's towel, underwear and clothing. She looked a bit soggy as she stepped out of the ladies' room. But not so soggy that she's turn down ice cream! Back to the boat via launch for a bit more passage planning and prep (jacklines, ditch bag, etc). All was a go for tomorrow's passage. The only decision - should we refuel in Provincetown (opens at 8am) or wait until NE Harbor. The fuel dock looked intimidating but we'd feel better with full tanks.... Our cabin was still full of wet underwear.

We decide to forego the fuel stop and head out of the harbor at 7:30am. Brrrrrrrr - it's cold out here and we put on sweatshirts and pants under our foulie jackets. The wind is from the north and we're motoring with mainsail up. No whale sightings altho' we did see some "mist spumes" which indicated whales, in the distance. By late evening we had quite a bit of traffic - primarily fishing boats on shallow banks. The wind had shifted enough for us to raise the genoa and sail. It wasn't to be a restful off-watch for Fred and Iris called him up an hour early for help on closeby targets - as we dealt with the target we passed an unlit object (looked like research marker with a tall flag on it) within feet of us. Jeez - that was close.

By 1am, Fred turned the engine back on. Iris was nervous on her 2nd watch as well - with lots of fishing boat traffic and then seeing lobster pot floats going by in the dark. We were still an hour from Matinicus Rock when she got Fred up again at 4 - all we needed was to get tangled in a float's rope while underway in the dark. Both of us stayed up from then on as we passed Matinicus Rock at around 5:30 and had another 30 miles to Northeast Harbor. Dolphins greated us enroute, as did lobster boats working early in the morning. We stopped at Clifton Docks at around 12:20 for fuel and water and then hailed the mooring agent for a mooring further in the harbor. Engine off at 1pm!

After lunch and a brief rest, we put the dinghy in the water and headed ashore. The mooring attendant and we met mid-way and while Iris held onto the attendant's boat, Fred and he completed the $100 transaction for 4 nights. Once on land, we relieved ourselves of trash, found out the harbormaster's mailing address so that Iris' mother could mail us our absentee ballots for the FL primaries, checked out the DSL rates at the Chamber of Commerce ($5 for the day, any day, between 8 and 5) and went for a short walk. We were pretty tired and had dinner aboard. Early to bed.

Iris was up again at 5:30 - those cats are like an alarm clock! After feeding them, she returned to bed, once again to awaken at the abrupt sounds of Frosty having a seizure. Another bad grand mal one - climbing the bulkhead and stepping in the water bowls. No point in going back to bed, she let Fred sleep in until 8:30. We decided that we'd test our stamina and foot gear by doing a relatively moderate hike from NE Harbor to Jordan Pond via Elliot Mountain/Asticou trails - ending with lunch at Jordan Pond and take the Island Explorer free buses back to Northeast Harbor. Where is our backpack? Tearing up the boat, we couldn't find it altho' surely it's here somewhere! A small canvas bag will have to do for our water, camera, etc. We were both unhappy with the state of our hiking boots, so Fred switched to well-worn, falling-apart walking shoes, and Iris switched to walking shoes as well. Fred, worried about his shoes, took along some electrical tape with which to tape on the soles.

We hiked up to Elliot Mountain and decided to alter our route and take the Harbor Brook trail down to join Asticou. It was a slightly soggy trail, but the brook babbled delightfully along the route and the light attempted to shine through the heavily wooded terrain. We rejoined the Asticou trail and got to Jordan Pond House. After getting on the waiting list (Fred was told 30 minutes), we just got into the gift shop to browse when Fred's buzzer went off - not even 5 minutes! We'd opted for inside seating and the major wait was for dining on the gorgeous lawn. Lobster stew with popovers and then huge desserts replenished the calories we'd worked off getting there ;-)

We tried the gift shop again. Fred's shoes had all but dissolved in the walk - electrical tape had NOT done the trick. The shop happened to have some Columbia hiking shoes that fit him well. Given our plans to do more hikes - part of our reason for coming here, he made the purchase. As we lounged on the lawn with an expansive view of Jordan Pond and The Bubbles, Fred switched to his new shoes and we decided to throw out the others. We took the bus back to Northeast Harbor, picked up our UPS package at the harbormaster and were back in the cockpit by 4pm. Tomorrow - a work day - laundry (hadn't done any by machine since Portsmouth, VA) for Iris; fix the windlass for Fred. While we ran the generator that evening, Fred noticed water in the engine room. It was from a loose hose clamp on the freshwater pump - he tightened it and that fixed the problem.

PS - the temperature in the cabin in the morning(s) was 56 degrees - pretty much the same as the water temperature. Every time we're running the generator, we're also running our ceramic heater. That get's the temp up to about 66!

Up early again - this time because we wanted to be ashore before the washing machines below the Pine Tree Market in town, got filled up. We got to the dinghy dock around 7:30 - Fred carrying the laundry and Iris bags and detergent. 3 machines were already in use, one was broken, but 3 remained and she quickly filled them with our stuff! We set a time of around 9:10 for Fred to come back. Between wash and dry cycles, Iris checked out the market, walked to the Library (which wouldn't open until 10, she discovered) to see about internet (unsuccessfully) and then did some provisioning until Fred came back. Meanwhile, he'd emptied the chain locker of both our chain and nylon rode to prepare for the windlass repair.

Back aboard Windwalker, Fred tested the connections, put in a new air-switch (which didn't fix the problem) while Iris stowed clothes and provisions. Fred continued the diagnoses inside the solonoid box and verified with a jumper that the up direction was working from the solonoid forward. Cleaning the airswitch connections and tightening the airhose got the windlass working again (at least for now). Hoping that it'll stay that way, we returned the chain and rode to its proper place in the chain locker. Chores completed - let's do something with the rest of the day! We had an early lunch then took the bus system to Southwest Harbor - a major boating harbor we'd not visited by land or boat. We quickly walked through town, mailing our absentee ballots, stopping in West Marine and browsing through some of the shops. We're done and it's not yet 2pm. Why not head into Bar Harbor and have dinner there? We got to town, headed straight to the internet cafe we'd used before to do some email, checked out which restaurants had the best early-bird lobster deal, and then walked the Shore Path. Iris wanted to get back before 7 to ensure Frosty's phenobarbital dose was on time. So dinner at the West St. Cafe (Grill?) and back on the 6:15pm bus. While Frosty had her pill on time, she still had a mild seizure about an hour later. Poor kitty.

We calculated backwards from a Dr. appointment that we have to make in New York City on September 18 and decided that we have quite a few days remaining to us in Maine. Fred made preparations for the Precipice Trail for tomorrow. It is one of the most difficult in Acadia and had previously been closed to us due to peregrine falcon nesting. Iris, having done it's shorter cousin trail, The Beehive (Precipice) Trail - decided this was not for her! Fear of falling and lacking any balance are not good for a non-technical (sans ropes) rock climb.

The alarm clocks are at it again - up at 5:30! Frosty was playing ball and dashing around the cabin like mad. We had a big breakfast and then dashed around wanting to catch the 9:25 bus in order to make the appropriate connection to another bus in Bar Harbor. Major miscommunication. Iris planned to relax by Sand Beach while Fred hiked and wasn't preparing to hike too. Fred intended to do another hike with her after he completed the Precipice. Different shoes, different clothes, need to take less. Scramble and snarl. We took our family radio along and arranged to check-in with each other every 30 minutes. The bus dropped Fred off (along with several hardy 20-somethings) at the Precipice Trail while Iris stayed aboard until Sand Beach. While he negotiated the treacherous ladders, iron bar hand-holds, and 1000 foot elevation change on the rock climb, she people-watched and read on the beach. Since Fred was so high up, the family radios did work for most of the check-ins, and we were reunited at around 1:30. By this time, Iris was able to talk Fred out of the additional hike. Instead, we took the bus to the Sieur de Monts visitor center where we visited the Nature Center, the Abbe Museum of Native Artifacts and the Wild Gardens of Acadia. Dr. Abbe lived in Northeast Harbor and played a large role in collecting native american artifacts. He was also the inventor of radiotherapy for cancer. A larger version of the museum exists in Bar Harbor but we didn't visit it.

A quick stop between buses at the Village Green allowed time for ice cream. Spaghetti dinner back at home. What to do tomorrow - go or stay?

The cats don't let up. This time Iris goes back to bed. Let's stay, get the paper, use the DSL connection ashore to pay some bills and then go for a leisurely hike somewhere... (another miscommunication in the works......) It takes us a little longer than planned to handle our mail. Iris wants to do some additional provisioning so Fred returned to the boat with the pc, meeting her back in Pine Tree Market a little while later. While Iris stows the foodstuffs back onboard, we debate which trails to take. Fred wants rigorous, Iris wants a walk. It's now 11:10 and one set of trails is accessible by the 11:25 bus. The next set is at least an hour later. Pandemonium and whining as we grab our gear, dash into the dinghy, rush ashore and Iris runs up the gangway to hail the bus while Fred ties up. Amazingly, we make the bus (meant to be?). Enroute to the Bubble Pond area trailhead, Fred looks at the elevation change on the topo once again for our intended trail (Cadilljac West Face Trail) and decides (good thing) that perhaps that trail isn't something Iris would like. (Rated difficult +) He proposes an alternative - doing the Eagle Lake West trail to the top of Connor's Nubble and then down to Jordan Pond via the Jordan Cliff Trail or carriage road. We had the topo map but not the trail descriptions. Iris agreed and off we headed to cover new ground at around noon. The Eagle Lake trail was dry (and could have been quite wet) but strewn with tree roots and rocks and then rock scrambling. It got pretty rugged and Iris resorted to scrambling and crawling between many of the rocks. We continued to forge on and came upon a mountain-biker staring down at the part of the trail we'd just done. We asked if he actually rode down this stuff and he said pretty much getting on the bike and falling off and carrying it ;-) Fred agreed that this trail was a bit more rugged than he'd thought it would be. The next couple we met said to look out for a porcupine in the trees about 100 yards ahead. There he was, staring at us! Iris had first seen a wild porcupine in Acadia when she was about 12! Other wild-life sightings for the day included a toad, a red squirrel and a few chipmunks. Later Fred would see a fawn too.

Finally atop Connor's Nubble, we ate sandwiches at 2pm. It was overcast and quite windy and chilly. Once again looking at the map, we came up with another plan. We'd follow our intended trail and carriage road to the intersection with the Jordan Cliff Trail. Depending on the time (since Iris moves at a snail's pace on difficult terrain), we'd either both take the carriage road back from there or split up. Iris pretty much went down the .2 mi. steep drop from Connor's Nubble on her rear end until we got to less rocky terrain. We made good time back on the carriage road and got to the trail decision at 3pm. Iris had a bad feeling about the Jordan Cliff Trail (but didn't remember exactly what she'd read) and opted for the carriage road. Fred took the 'high' road and we agreed to meet at Jordan Pond (this time sans family radios) at 4:30pm. Iris enjoyed a fast paced walk on the carriage road, with views of horse-drawn carriages, family biking 'dramas' and Jordan Pond in her quick half hour walk to the Pond House. Meanwhile, Fred was on a trail that was shorter but just as difficult as the Precipice Trail without as many hand-holds. The views of Jordon Pond from the edge of the cliff though were awesome. As the trail clings to the rock face, you have an unimpeded 900 foot drop down to the carriage road and the pond. Had Iris gone with him, we'd still be crawling along the trail at dark! We met at around 4:10, Fred purchased a weatherproof jacket he'd eyed when he bought his shoes earlier in the week and we caught the 4:35 bus back to Northeast Harbor. Time for the early-bird lobster special at the Docksider restaurant in Northeast Harbor and back in time to give Frosty her meds. The weather forecast for tomorrow isn't pleasant. We may or may not leave. But it's time to read our Sunday paper and relax.

Rain and heavy drizzle with more in the forecast for the day. We don't really HAVE to leave - so let's stay. Nice hot breakfast and then we head ashore to check out the library's free internet access (open from 10-5), visit an ATM, check out the hardware store/chandlery - where Iris found some Raritan Toilet Water - a product we use with our head, but Westmarine no longer carries. We also paid up for tonight's mooring and spent the remainder of the day working on updating the website. It remained rainy and gray. Fred did additional route planning - looking at the anchorages Iris had selected. We'll have to make determinations based on weather. Unpleasant news, however, is the Tropical Storm Ernesto (soon to be Hurricane) is bearing down on West Palm Beach. Nothing we can do about it from up here. We hope we don't have to deal with the remnants in Maine as it heads northward, as well. Tomorrow should be sunny and warmer with lighter winds from the north for the next few days. We plan to take on some water before leaving the harbor and head to Pretty Marsh Harbor on the west side of Mt. Desert - a new to us anchorage......

Since we'd worked so hard on updating the website, may as well go in and pay the $5 to do the upload ;-) We dinghied in with the laptop at 7:45am - but no one arrived at the Chamber of Commerce until around 8:15. After updating the site, we checked on Tropical Storm Ernesto's status as well as weather outlook here as it would be our last chance to look at detailed weather until Boothbay. Back at the boat, we left our mooring and motored Windwalker over to the water float - where we tied up and filled our tanks. It was time to move on - so we left the float and our favorite Northeast Harbor around 10, motoring up the west side of Mt. Desert Island to the beautiful Pretty Marsh Harbor. Enroute we saw dolphins and plenty of cormorants. We anchored at 1, had lunch and put on heavier clothes as the high was a chilly 65 degrees and cloudy. Just a little bit of sun would have helped a lot! A sailboat came up near us and picked up a mooring - but apparently it was just a lunch stop and they left shortly thereafter. (We've noticed once again that it is the practice in Maine to pick up private vacant moorings, even for the night. Not our style - we prefer to know how our boat is secured (eg - unknown status of moorings) and don't relish the thought of having to vacate a mooring when the proper owner returns either.)

There was an attractive gazebo with a set of stairs leading to it and a picnic area from the water - part of the national park. We'd originally planned to dinghy over and explore it - however the gazebo had more than a few people moving about and the chill put a damper on our plans. We huddled in the cockpit and read. A seal swam about the boat but dove when we grabbed the camera. Or was it Iris's attempt at seal noises that scared it off ;-) We saw another large sailboat approach the harbor. He's aiming right at us!!! Just as it looked like he was going to ram us amidships, he made a sharp turn to the left and stopped beside us with a big grin on his face. He wanted to know where the closest road access was. Fred told him the gazebo was the only one we knew of. He seemed to ignore our comments that we thought he was going to hit us. And off he went to check out the gazebo steps, leaving the harbor a few minutes later. We had the harbor to ourselves for the remainder of the afternoon and night - with a clearing sky.

It seemed to be the most quiet night ever. The water was flat and when Iris awoke at around 4am - the stillness was amazing - no water noises, no boat noises, no animal or bird sounds - just the soft breathing of Fred and the cats. At dawn the water was like glass - not a ripple. Not until a little later in the morning when the seal came by for his swim. We raised anchor at 9:30. The windlass' 'up' switch worked for Fred as he raised the chain from 85' to 50' - but Iris had trouble with it for the last 15' or so, raising only a foot at a time. Is it fixed or not? We motored to the Bold/Devil Islands on Merchants' Row, the anchorage Iris had selected for the evening. The islands were private but she'd hoped to explore 'Hell's Half Acre' - a small island that was state owned. Well - 'Hell's Half Acre' was probably smaller than a 1/2 acre - it was miniscule. As we motored by it into the anchorage Fred asked "this is what we came here to see?" Neither of us was impressed. The anchorage was more exposed and the water was deeper than we liked as well. There were two moorings in the middle, with houses on either island. Fred suggested that we pick up one of the moorings (again - not something we normally do..) while we think about whether or not we want to stay here. We had lunch and decided we'd rather go on to tomorrow's anchorage - the one between McGlathery and Round that we knew we liked. We could anchor in around 8' (at low) instead of 25' at low as well. Off we went - it was a short motor to get there. Four boats were already anchored - one in at least 33'. We worked our way in front of all the boats as it was the shallow water we desired. Perhaps too shallow? In order to make sure, after we'd anchored, we put the dink in the water and used our electronic sounder around the perimeter of the boat to ensure there weren't submerged rocks we'd hit as we rotated with the wind. All clear.

Analog service for our cell phone was minimal at best - Iris was able to check phone messages but attempts to call her mother went poorly with several disconnects. The cats patrolled our decks as evening approached and two of the boats left; a ketch and a powerboat remained. The winds turned to the north, not a good thing for this anchorage. We expected a noisy night due to the chop from the wind, lobster boats manning their pots in the morning and a lot of traffic through the nearby channel between the islands. After dinner, while watching PBS, we were glad to find out that Ernesto wasn't going to be a major problem for Florida. The winds continued to pick up as did the noise and we braced ourselves for a restless night. Fred set both depth and anchor alarms and we expected to have to get up and check on conditions throughout the night. Fortunately, winds abated somewhat after 11:30 or so.

Iris arose at 6:50 to the sounds of Frosty having a grand mal seizure. No point in going back to bed after that. Fred slept in and we had a nice big breakfast. Our plan was to dinghy over to Wreck Island, a spot we enjoyed on our last trip and hike on it, then return for lunch and head to McGlathery for a similar hike. We had Wreck to ourselves. Yesterday we saw two Windjammers unload and load 'tons' of folks for a lunch stop but none arrived today. We arrived at low tide and made sure the dinghy was securely tied up above the beach to allow for incoming tide. There's only so far we can drag it up the rocky shoreline when dealing with 10' tides. We climbed to several high pastures to enjoy the surrounding island views. Then Iris returned to the dinghy and sat in the sun on a large rock beachside, while Fred decided to hike around the point. We'd brought our family radios along and Fred called Iris to let her know that he was continuing on to the 2nd and then 3rd points. He'd been out of sight for a long time. After awhile, when she hadn't heard from him, Iris called (and he'd been trying her as well) and while the signal was bad, she understood that he was 'circumnavigating' the exterior rocks of Wreck. Close to the end of his island exploration, Fred had to head inland as the rocks became impassible. Together again, we dinghied back to the boat. By this time the chop had picked up and when we got back to Windwalker, the waves were about 2' high. Maybe we don't want to stay here tonight! Let's put the outboard on the boat, have lunch and then leave!

Next on our agenda were either Pulpit Harbor or Holbrook Island Harbor - both spots we'd done before but felt we hadn't done justice. Fred worked out routes to both and we had lunch. Leaving the anchorage was a bit of a firedrill. The water was choppy, we were sitting a few feet from a lobster pot float and the windlass 'up' switch was acting up for Iris. We didn't want the prop wrapped in that float! In fact, the float did get hung up briefly, on our stern swim ladder but Fred was able to free it with the boathook. Off at last! After an hour, we really had to decide which anchorage to head to. We thought we'd try for Holbrook if the wind angle let us sail. Nope. So Pulpit Harbor it is. A seal and dolphin sighting confirmed our decision ;-).

Last time we'd been in Pulpit Harbor was 1999. It had come highly recommended but we were unimpressed. It was crowded with moorings and we anchored in fairly deep water. We didn't go ashore. The moorings were still there but we were more experienced and worked our way in to a spot further in the harbor between two moorings. We anchored but Iris felt we'd end up on the rocks at low tide. Fred agreed and we raised anchor and moved up a few boatlengths and re-anchored. Much better! We saw a few boats arrive at dusk and pick up moorings. We thought those were their moorings (but when they left early the next morning, we decided they were just picking up private moorings). We hadn't run our refrigerator and Iris wanted to run the generator. The harbor was quiet and we waited for sunset, Then we waited for someone else to run theirs And waited. And waited. Sorry Iris - we can't run the generator - we'll disrupt the perfect stillness. We'll run it at 7 in the morning. Let's hope the boat stays cold enough so the stuff in the freezer stays frozen. But it was a beautiful evening with a nice sky and the only noise an occasional car going by.