Departure Day

Here we are at Ocean Yacht Marina in Portsmouth, Virginia waiting for departure day.  Truth be told we have not just been sitting and waiting - we have had long, long "To Do" lists that we work through every day.  One of those projects was replacing the "head" - which is the commode for you land lubbers.  That ate up about two weeks of our time. 
We removed all the items that cause issues: hoses, pumps etc...  Now we have a composting head.  Sounds a little gross - but no more so than carrying around a holding tank.  So far, so good.  Best part about it is that it will always work and we will not have to deal with plumbing issues again!!  

Working on platform for the new head

 Our departure day was supposed to be May 4th but since we are the only ARC boat in the marina we will just catch up with the ARC when we reach Bermuda.  Our crew arrives tomorrow and it looks as if we may depart on Monday rather than Saturday.  There is a front rolling through right now and it should be moving out by Monday.  That will give us enough time to make it across the Gulf Stream without any storms and the wind in the right direction.  The weather has been crazy - one storm system after another.  We see maybe two days of calm weather and then it starts again. So... when we get a window we are leaving!  Next post from beautiful Bermuda!!

12 days, 14 hours, 53 minutes and 31 seconds and counting...

We are counting down the days, and hours, and minutes and even seconds!!  Still working through lists but getting closer and closer to wrapping up the finishing touches.  Ordered yet another halyard today - we have had strong winds here in Portsmouth, Virginia and noticed some chafe that wasn't there the last time we checked.  We are so thankful that we have had these few weeks to really go through things on the boat and make sure all systems are working well.  Feeling pretty ready...
Our crew members arrive on Saturday and we will spend some time going out with them 
on the boat.  Plan on practicing  
a few maneuvers with them and just having some overall "become more familiar with the boat" time.  

We hung the ARC flag yesterday and received our yellow brick tracker in the mail.  More shopping tomorrow - its amazing how much food you can store in all the little nooks and crannies.  We still think we will depart on the 4th of May - but we will see what the weather forecasts are for the week of the 29th.  Stay tuned!!

Preparing for ARC Europe 2019

Sunset just a few days after Hurricane Florence

For those who follow our blog I apologize for being so remiss.  Last year was a "no travel" year as we were preparing for the ARC Europe rally.  Since we weren't traveling I did not 
do any writing.  I could have written about the preparations but that would not appeal to many folks!  So the rally is a transatlantic crossing with other boats.  True to our plan we have spent the last five years sailing the east coast of the US.  Now we are headed to other shores.  Our plan is to sail in the Mediterranean for the next few years.  And to get to the Med we joined a rally.  Needless, to say there has been a tremendous amount of prep for this trip.  So... that is what we did pretty much all of 2018.  We installed all new electronics, a wind generator and a pactor modem.  The modem works with our SSB radio so that we can receive email while at sea.  To say it was all "not seamless" would be an understatement.  And then of course, Mother Nature had some more fun in store for us.  We were in New Bern, North Carolina when Hurricane Florence arrived.  No-one knew where Florence was going to hit so folks were left wondering where to go and what to do.  We ended up staying in the water at New Bern Grand Marina and thank God we sustained relatively minor damage.  Many, many boats sank.  Essentially all the boats across from us sank - maybe two survived.

This is a picture of the marina across from us.  Not good. 

This was one of many boats that ended up on the land.  People all up and down the Neuse River found boats etc... in their yards.

To give you an idea of high the water got this is a picture of our boat and the piling that our dock is attached to.  This is a floating dock - there are rollers that allow the dock to ride up and down that piling.

 The dark marks on the piling is where the rollers rode to.  You can see that we came within 16 inches of the dock being over the top of the piling altogether!!  Then all the docks and the boats attached to them would have just floated away.  
We were so grateful that we survived!  New Bern took a big a hit- but true to their community spirit they came right back!  Great little town.  After Florence we had enough sense to know that the remaining work we needed done would not get done anywhere around there.  Just too many boats damaged.  So... as soon as we were able we sailed her to Deltaville, Virginia.  We left Talaria in Deltaville and headed home for the holidays.  And now we are back.  We arrived in Deltaville a week ago, finished a few things up and then sailed her to Portsmouth, Virginia.  This is the departure point for the rally.  So far Michael and I get up start working and the next time we look at the clock its dinnertime!  But we are getting through our lists and feeling more and more ready every day.  The rally departs on May 4th.  We will have a tracker on the boat so you can follow us across if you choose.  To do so you would have to download the YB races app.  It will ask you to add a race.  The race/rally is "ARC Europe 2019".  You then select a leg.  There are 3 legs: Portsmouth to Bermuda, Bermuda to Azores and Azores to Lagos.  Again the rally doesn't start until May 4th so you won't see anything until then.  Once you get on the app and select a race and leg you will see little boat icons on the water.  If you select an icon it will tell you the name of the boat.  If you click on the name it will tell you the position of the boat.  You just have to click on boats till you find us - Talaria.  Stay tuned for more!

 

Back to New Bern, North Carolina

Church in Essex, CT

Our plan forever changes... just when you think you are set the weather report changes yet again!  We got all involved with trying to fix the autopilot and didn't check the weather for a day or two.  That was a mistake as in that length of time everything changed.  We had planned to go up the coast overnight from Cape May, NJ to Norfolk, VA.  The day we had planned to go looked alright but by the time we would arrive in Virginia the wind would be blowing 30 knots steady!  So we took off instead and headed up the Delaware Bay to the Chesapeake/Delaware Canal.  We had high hopes that we would make it all the way to Delaware City in one day - unfortunately that did not happen.  We ended up anchoring in the Cohansey river for two nights as the wind picked up again the next day.  High winds against a strong current makes for a treacherous situation.  So we waited... again.

Regatta on Long Island Sound

Once we got to the canal that connects the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay we were golden.  Over a week of perfect weather.  So we made our way down the Chesapeake and onto the AICW pretty quickly.  Amazing how fast you can move with good weather!

East River - New York City

 We made it back to New Bern before predicted thunderstorms - it was raining when we arrived but no lightening.  So that's it - we have sailed up the entire east coast.  Now we are setting our sites on Europe.  2018 will be spent upgrading the boat and preparing ourselves for a transatlantic crossing. Spring 2019 we plan to join a rally and sail to the Mediterranean.  Stay tuned.

Off loading platform for oil tankers in the Chesapeake Bay

Sunrises and Sunsets

Sunrise over Atlantic Highlands, NJ

We did finally make it to the Connecticut river two days before we were to have high winds from hurricane Jose which would be skirting the coast of Long Island.  Enough time to stow all our canvas, rent a car and get a hotel room for the night.  But, of course, as Jose had done all along - he stalled.  So the night we spent in a hotel was mild but when we got back on the boat the wind came.  Truly it wasn't too bad though - we had weathered a rougher night in Maine during a nor'easter.  We stayed on the Connecticut river a couple of days but once the wind calmed down enough we took off.  Now we were trying to make it to Cape May, NJ before hurricane Maria started moving up the east coast.  Forever dodging hurricanes!

 We sailed from Essex, CT to Port Jefferson, NY.  It was one rough day on Long Island Sound!  We got hit by some pretty big waves and were very glad to reach our destination that day.  Our "weather window" to reach Cape May, NJ was fairly short.  The winds from hurricane Maria were going to be pretty high and the sea was all churned up.  NOAA was predicting 27 foot waves in the coastal waters!  We wanted no part of that.  

Sunset - Cohansey River

 So - the next day we went all the way through NY harbor and over to Atlantic Highlands, NJ.  We wanted to reach Cape May within three days as that was all the time we had.  At least if we reached Cape May we had options.  If the weather wasn't settled enough to sail on the ocean we could always travel up the Delaware Bay and then down to Chesapeake Bay.  From there we could get on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway all the way to New Bern, NC.  

 Our plan was good and we did reach Cape May just in the nick of time.  The next day the wind was blowing 20-30 knots and stayed that way for several days.  Unfortunately, that wind prevented us from going up the Delaware as well.  There we sat stuck in Cape May, NJ waiting for an opportunity to either make an overnight run for Norfolk or up the Delaware.  Hurricane Maria was just off the coast of Cape Hatteras.  Time for laundry and working on the autopilot which has decided to quit working. 

Into the Mystic

So we left Martha's Vineyard on the 14th of September to sail to Cuttyhunk.  Cuttyhunk is the only one of the Elizabeth Islands that is not privately owned.  From there our goal was to sail to Stonington, CT on Long Island Sound and then to Essex, CT.  Essex is about 5 miles up the Connecticut river, also off of Long Island Sound, which we hoped would be far enough from any weather related to hurricane Jose. 

Cuttyhunk Island

 It was foggy that morning and we had to wait till the tidal current was in our favor to make the passage.  By mid-morning we thought the fog was clearing enough so we took off.  But... the further we sailed into Vineyard Sound the thicker the fog became.  It was like sailing into a huge cloud.  We could not see a thing so we chickened out and turned around determined to try again the next day.  

Cuttyhunk Ferry Terminal

As planned the next day we set out again.  Initially, we thought it looked a bit better but once again the further we sailed into Vineyard Sound the foggier it became.  This time we decided to turn on our radar and keep going as we were running out of options.  We could not wait any longer as we had to get away from there and to our safe spot before Jose reached the area.  There is a passage that you have to go thru between the islands called Quick's Hole.  There is land on either side of the passage - but we saw no land or bouys.  We did not even see the huge fishing boat that passed right by us.  The only way we knew he was there was by his call to us on the VHF radio.  He said I am going to pass you - hold your course.  And then he sounded his foghorn once past.  We heard the horn but never saw the boat!!

Mooring field at Cuttyhunk

Right as we reached Cuttyhunk the fog cleared enough for us to get through the inlet.  And then about an hour later the fog just settled right down again and everything disappeared. 

Cuttyhunk is a very small island with a handful of full time residents.  Sailors love to visit though because it is such a unique place.  And we were able to get some Quahog which I love!

No Wal-Mart here.  This little market is all there is.  If you want anything else you have to take the ferry to the mainland.

Cuttyhunk Grocery

The next day our goal was Stonington, CT.  When we got up the fog was again so thick you could see next to nothing.

We kept waiting and waiting for the fog to lift but it was not going to happen.  Finally, when we were able to see the jetty for a few minutes we took off thinking if we can just get through the inlet surely the fog won't be as thick on Buzzard's Bay.  We were totally wrong about that. The fog was just as thick on Buzzard's Bay.  Our goal was Stonington but in light of the fog we changed course for Newport, RI.  The fog was so thick we could barely see past the bow of the boat.  As we were entering Newport Harbor we started seeing all kinds of boats on the radar!  Fortunately, the fog suddenly lifted as there were many, many boats in the harbor.  The boat show was that weekend and there was a regatta.  Thank goodness for small favors!

Cuttyhunk Inlet

All told we spent four long days sailing through dense fog.  Trying times for sure.  One thing for sure we were able to hone our radar skills!

Martha's Vineyard

Resist -Gotta love Massachusetts!

As it turned out we decided that since Hurricane Jose was now turning our way perhaps a trip to Nantucket would be pushing it.  We did not want to be stuck out in the islands with a hurricane bearing down on us.  So our new plan was to visit Martha's Vineyard and then head into Long Island Sound (originally our plan was to sail from Block Island, RI to Cape May, NJ but Jose put an end to that plan).  We decided we would go up the Connecticut River in Long Island Sound as far as Essex and wait out the hurricane.  Determined to squeeze in a visit to Martha's Vineyard we headed that way before heading to the Sound.

Oak Bluffs Cottage

 In order, to reach Martha's Vineyard we had to sail through Woods Hole Passage.  The current runs very swift through the passage and there are numerous buoys marking different areas that make it confusing for a stranger.  It is necessary to study the chart and mark your passage well or risk getting dashed up against rocks that are conveniently located in the middle of the passage!  The current runs about 4 knots and sometimes higher.  Talaria was speeding along at 10 knots!!  Martha's Vineyard was named for Bartholomew Gosnold's deceased daughter Martha.  Gosnold is credited with the first known European expedition to Cape Cod.  The story is that when Gosnold first saw Martha's Vineyard the island was covered with wild grapevines.  Hence, Martha's Vineyard.  Wild grapevines are still all over the island they are just not as noticeable as in 1602 apparently.  Gosnold is credited with naming Cape Cod and the nearby Elizabeth Islands as well.  Martha's Vineyard has 6 towns and you can ride around the entire island in a day - which we did.  We moored Talaria in Oak Bluffs and then took the city bus all around the island!  

Oak Bluffs, one of the six towns on Martha's Vineyard Island is known for its little cottages.  This area of the town was once a Methodist camp.  People came year after year and set up tents and then eventually built the little cottages.  Those cottages are really a site to see.  Each gingerbread house unique from the next. 

Cute!!

Little Pink Houses for you and me

Martha's Vineyard has no streetlights, no traffic lights or billboards!  Yay!!  We were pleasantly surprised by the lack of ostentatious homes - most were very humble.  Most all are cedar shake with white picket fences or stacked stone fences.  And there are not alot of paved roads - many are just dirt roads.  Surprising considering the affluence of Martha's Vineyard. 

Gay Head Cliffs

Gay Head now known as Aquinnah, the native Indian name, is at the other end of the island.  The native Americans who of course were living on the island long before the Europeans arrived used to make beautiful pottery from all the different colors of clay from the Gay Head cliffs.  But that has come to an end as the cliffs are eroding.  

The island is beautiful and not what we expected which made it even nicer.  Very glad we visited.  Nantucket another day!