Our goal of getting our topping lift repaired was not to be fulfilled. Despite having two weeks' warning, Samalot Marine only acted on the morning of our arrival to try to find a fix and couldn't locate a wire halyard (their fix to preventing chaft at the mast head) of the proper size. Since we didn't want to hang around for several days, we headed north to PYC.
For the first half of the trip it was warm but when we passed under the Newburg-Beacon bridge, the wind suddenly turned from out of the south at 8 to 10 kts to out of the north at 18 kts! That started some wave action rather rapidly and we took to the sides of the channel to avoid the worst of the wind and waves, arriving at PYC around 5:30 pm, docking with much appreciated help from Richie and Frank Niet.
Reflecting back upon the two month cruise, we took a vote on the best places:
Best Anchorage: Opechee Island. It was surrounded by small, uninhabited islands you could visit and the protection was great.
Anchorage Honorable Mention: Round Island in Merchants Row. It also had uninhabited islands to explore. Honorable Mention also goes to Mackarel Cove in Swans Island where you could sit in the cockpit and have a great view of Mt Desert.
Best Harbor: No contest, Boothbay Harbor. For $25/night, you had a mooring in the middle of town with about 100 shops and restaurants to sample. There was also a free shuttle that included passage to a Stop and Shop for reprovisioning and an aquarium to see.
Best Restaurant: Again, no contest, Lenny's at Branford. We sampled seafood up and down the coast and although some was pretty good, the clams were not as sweet nor as juicy as at Lenny's.
Best Sail: Many in this category. the sail from Cape Cod Canal to Provincetown was wing on wing all the way. The sails in Maine were good with the constant wind (no gusts) and the scenery could not be beat. The last three days in Long Island Sound were fabulous when a south wind came up for three straight days at 10 to 15 kts where we sailed from Port Jefferson to Manhasset.
Most Challenging: Those Maine lobster pots! After awhile, you learned to not to just look 50 ft ahead of you for the next bouy but to look further ahead to "see" a fairway. There was always a path through them if you looked carefully enough. It certainly wasn't planned by the lobstermen but with enough randomness in the placement of the pots, there always seemed to be a path if you could see it quickly enough. Some areas were denser than others, especially around Tenants Harbor and in sections of the Deer Island Thorofare. Upper Penobscot Bay practically had no pots.
Most Fog: Of course, that's Maine which made the lobster pots all that more difficult to avoid. Despite our best efforts, we still managed to snag two but both slid off without fouling the prop.
Most Fun: Matthew was definitely a joy to have on-board. There's nothing like an infusion of youth to get the spirits up and get you going! I think he'll be joining us next year too. Now, if he could just tell us his secret in how he swam in 61 degree water for hours at a time without freezing.....
We will definitely be returning to Maine in 2008 and at some point in time, continue on south through the ICW. It's been great fun and I hope you will all join us on our cruise next year.
Sincerely, Bob and Ann Sherer
Thanks for following the blog and hope to see you again next year!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Poughkeepsie Yacht Club - Home After 10 Weeks!
Posted by Bob423 at 9:04 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Haverstraw, NY - At Anchor off Croton Point
On Monday we'll pay a visit to Samalot Marine to get our topping lift fixed and then head home later that day if the fix is quick (good luck on that....) or, more likely, head home on Tuesday morning.
Posted by Bob423 at 9:15 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Manhasset Bay - Another Great Sail Day
For the first time since we've been coming to Long Island Sound, we sailed through Execution Rocks. In fact, we sailed all the way from Northport into Manhasset Bay anchorage. Great wind, great sun, no waves - did I say great - maybe fabulous is a better word.
We grilled a sirloin on the grill and used the rub from BBQ USA and watched the sun go down. Tomorrow we have to leave around 7:15 to make the current change at Hell Gate and then head up the river to Haverstraw for the topping lift repair on Monday. Hopefully we'll avoid the predicted showers.
Posted by Bob423 at 8:53 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Friday, September 7, 2007
Oyster Bay - Another 5 hour sail
We sailed all the way from Northport into Oyster Bay, great day for a sailboat! There was a forecast of 20 kt gusts the tonight so we anchored close to a south shore in Oyster Bay in about 7 feet of water. With 120 feet out, that's a lot of scope so we should be secure for the night.
I called Samalot to schedule a visit on Monday to replace my topping lift jury rig with a proper replacement so we'll be headed up river on Sunday. I expect Monday will be taken up with the topping lift repair and then we'll head for PYC on Tuesday, arriving early afternoon. Tomorrow we'll aiming for Manhasset to position ourselves for a trip through the East River, always a "fun" ride.
Posted by Bob423 at 9:26 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Northport at Anchor
The Northport anchorage is a turn to the north once past the end of the sand spit. One reason we like it is that there's a place for Lance to run free. We look for such anchorages when Lance is with us. We're watching a storm around North Carolina develop but so far there's not much predicted for New York in the way of precipitation. We'll keep an eye on it.
Posted by Bob423 at 9:20 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Port Jefferson - We Reprovision
Posted by Bob423 at 9:08 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Port Jefferson - At Anchor (to starboard as you come in)
Once in Port Jefferson we anchored far from other boats. However, just as we were sitting down to eat, a catamaran anchored about 30 feet off our starboard side! Sure enough, as the tide changed, we got close enough to touch! That convinced him to haul anchor and move. We settled down to eat and enjoy a great sunset.
Posted by Bob423 at 9:38 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Monday, September 3, 2007
Milford - The Return of the Refrigerator Repairman
The wind was predicted to be 15 to 20 kts out of the southwest which put Port Jefferson out of the question as far as we were concerned (PJ was dead SW). So instead we motored over to Milford, only 10 miles west. We still saw 15 to 20 kts true wind and the typical Long Island Sound chop (short, steep waves). We were making about 7 kts with water over the bow at times but the powerboats were not doing much better, 8 to 9 at most. It was a wild ride but a short ride. Approaching Milford, we saw one small powerboat come out, turn around and head back in.
Several discounts at local restaurants are part of the dockage at the Milford Town Landing so we took advantage of a 10% discount at Cancun's Charlies, a Mexican restaurant that's pretty good. They also provide free coffee and a paper in the morning, not a bad deal.
Now, to the refrigerator. Our old friend, Jerry (we're on a first name basis) paid us another visit since the freezer section didn't get below 32F overnight. He fed in some more refrigerant (409A) and spent about 2 hours with us before he was satisfied it was working okay. Right now the freezer is reading -1F and we're in the process of freezing our first set of ice trays with the new compressor. With that I think I can call the repair a success. We have a 2 year warranty on the new compressor and associated electronics. On to Port Jefferson in the morning with a promised northwest wind!
Posted by Bob423 at 9:14 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Branford - Refrigerator Repair Day
Meanwhile, Philip and family returned for a visit with the intention of going to Lenny's for dinner but that was a dream. They didn't arrive until 7:00 pm and you can forget getting a table at Lenny's at that hour, they were out in the parking lot waiting for a table. So Philip ordered pizza and we all ate on the boat.
We're headed for Milford tomorrow with winds predicted to be right on the nose, oh well.
Posted by Bob423 at 9:38 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Branford - Great Sail and Lenny's
Wind, wind, glorious wind!! 25 miles of glorious wind to Branford! We had a beam reach all the way and even with a reef in the jib and main we were routinely reaching 8 kts (8.3 max) over water (9.3 over land per the GPS). With the wind coming off the land, there were little in the way of waves, nice smooth water and lots of wind.
Naturally, when we're in Branford we eat at Lenny's. They have the best fried seafood of anywhere I've eaten. We sampled up and down the coast from Maine to Florida and Lenny's is simply the best. Lest someone think I'm free with my praise, here's what the New York Times had to say about Lenny's in their 8/29/07 edition:
"Putting together the experience from the trip, I decided to try my hand at customizing my meal at Lenny’s Indian Head Inn in Branford, Conn.... What was placed in front of me 10 minutes later was a platter with clams nearly as large as those at the Clam Box. They had a light golden almost tempuralike coating. And the bellies? They were briny, sweet and so juicy a lobster bib wouldn’t have been out of the question."
Here's a link to the complete review, click on NYT, the review of Lenny's is in the last paragraph on page 2. We'll be here one more day and we'll have to put up with going to Lenny's again - tough work! Follow our progress at Return Trip.
Posted by Bob423 at 8:28 PM 0 comments Links to this post