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| Kinvara underway |
Sep 1, 2012
Back to Newport
We returned from Block Island to Newport and ended up staying here except for 2 nights in Cuttyhunk. Kinvara is being hauled out in Warwick, RI next week and remain on the hard for the winter. We have started unloading stuff from the boat to Sarah's house in Newport. It's amazing how much stuff collects within. Our Ford Escape will not hold all the "stuff" so we have rented the small trailer from U Haul to get it all home. We plan to leave Newport on Sunday, September 9th and be back home in Florida by the 12th or 13th.
Cuttyhunk
We made a brief visit to Cuttyhunk Island. Originally we were on our way to Hyannis to visit friends and neighbors from Florida. We ended up staying an extra night then returned to Newport because our anchor remote connection had corroded and was unusable. Peter ordered the part and we returned to Newport to fix it and ended up visiting our friends by car.
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| Sunsets are always awesome on Cuttyhunk |
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| Steer on a nearby private island |
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| Can you find the bird? |
Patriot Place
While on a trip back to Franklin, our old home town, we stopped off at Patriot Place...home of the New England Patriots. It has changed quite a bit. there is a large shopping complex attached to the stadium area as well as a medical center with emergency services from Brigham and Woman's Hospital. It was very impressive!
Aug 12, 2012
A Week in Block Island
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| The sunsets in Block Island are beautiful!! |
While here we watched the culmination of a fishing tournament with the weighing in of really large yellow fin tuna. One day a small sailboat motored through the channel with a man on the foredeck playing bagpipes. Sunday they left the harbor and he was again playing the bagpipes.
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| A day to relax |
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| Laundry day |
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| A day in the water |
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| Peter, Sarah, Natalie, and and the local pirate...Arrrrgh!!! |
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| Kinvara looks huge from this angle |
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| The New England Cruise ship comes in for a day |
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| Yellow fin tuna from the fishing tournament |
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| Glen and Ani from Newport |
Aug 7, 2012
Marthas Vineyard to Block Island
We had a calm night to sleep in but Peter woke early and raised the crew by 6:30AM to head to Block Island. We raised anchor by 6:45 and headed north. Unfortunately when we reached our turn to the west into Vineyard Sound the fog closed in. Peter decided to turn into Vineyard Haven and anchor for a while to let the fog clear. This place on the sound is extremely busy with ferry traffic between Woods Hole and 3 locations on Martha's Vineyard. We were going against a strong current and had limited maneuverability so the wisest decision was to wait it out. After an hour at anchor we decided to go ashore and do some provisioning at the grocery store on shore.
By 1:30 the fog cleared and we hoped the current had slowed to give us a better passage through Vineyard Sound. We got our wish on the fog bit but the current was still on the strong side so we had to abandon the trip to Block Island and decided to pull into Menemsha. This is a tiny fishing village which has not changed it's character on Martha's Vineyard over the years. Years ago the fisherman made there living by spearing swordfish offshore and fishing in the sound. Once "line fishing" started with the bigger ships it depleted the swordfish supply and the govn't had to regulate the number being caught. This changed forever the nature of Menemsha. There is a beautiful sculpture at the harbor entrance depicting a fisherman spearing a swordfish.
The other claim to fame for Menemsha is it's use in the film "Jaws". There were sheds built along the docks for the movie that remain today and the harbor entrance is the same used when Jaws swam in through the breakwater. Every August the little town celebrates a Jaws Festival.
We would have loved to stay longer in Menemsha but all night we were rolling violently in the waves from a west wind so we did not sleep much.
The next morning we left by 8:30AM thinking the fog was clearing. It didn't. We had about 25 miles to Block Island, well offshore on a direct route, and had fog almost the entire way. The visibility changed from about 1/2 mile to 500ft. Once it cleared as we passed Newport then came on top of us again. thank goodness we had our radar and AIS on so we could see boat traffic. We had to cross 2 shipping channels but found no large ship traffic to worry about. Jane got to use her favorite toy (new in 2009), an automatic foghorn. this allows her to relax a bit and not have to constantly blow the hand held air horn.
It was a slow going trip as we had current against us all the way. Our top speed was maybe 6.5k. Closing in on Block Island the fog came and went but thankfully it did clear long enough to allow us in through the channel and get anchored for the night.
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| Just a little boat with it's own helicopter |
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| The original "Black Dog" schooner |
The other claim to fame for Menemsha is it's use in the film "Jaws". There were sheds built along the docks for the movie that remain today and the harbor entrance is the same used when Jaws swam in through the breakwater. Every August the little town celebrates a Jaws Festival.
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| The infamous Jaws breakwater |
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| The harbor masters office |
We would have loved to stay longer in Menemsha but all night we were rolling violently in the waves from a west wind so we did not sleep much.
The next morning we left by 8:30AM thinking the fog was clearing. It didn't. We had about 25 miles to Block Island, well offshore on a direct route, and had fog almost the entire way. The visibility changed from about 1/2 mile to 500ft. Once it cleared as we passed Newport then came on top of us again. thank goodness we had our radar and AIS on so we could see boat traffic. We had to cross 2 shipping channels but found no large ship traffic to worry about. Jane got to use her favorite toy (new in 2009), an automatic foghorn. this allows her to relax a bit and not have to constantly blow the hand held air horn.
It was a slow going trip as we had current against us all the way. Our top speed was maybe 6.5k. Closing in on Block Island the fog came and went but thankfully it did clear long enough to allow us in through the channel and get anchored for the night.
Edgartown, Marthas Vineyard
Kinvara left Cuttyhunk at 7:30 AM to catch a slack current in Buzzards Bay then the full current through Quick's Hole into Vineyard Sound. Our planned destination was an anchorage near Vineyard Haven called Lake Tashmoo but we decided to keep going though since we had current and wind to aid our trip around the tip of Vineyard Haven and south to Edgartown.
We had not been in Edgartown on our own boat. Two or three times in the past Peter tried to call for reservations for the long fourth of July weekend and could not get through or it was already booked. There is such a process to get a mooring with dates, specific times, online reservations only etc. Tuesday, when Jane called by phone to get a mooring they told her check in/out was 11AM, that reservations are only online and to call back at 11AM. When we arrived at the harbor entrance she again called on her cell and got exactly the same statement. She told them we were at the harbor entrance but they wanted us to hail on VHF when we entered. Not 5 minutes later we arrived in the harbor so Peter hailed and we were instantly directed to a mooring. What a process!! There were at least a dozen moorings empty the 2 days we were there. Again today, 2 days later, Jane asked the collection boat to take payment for 1 more night. She was told, again, that check in/out was 11AM and to call them back at 10:45 to see if it was available. We could count at least 20 mooring balls empty. So we sat until 10:30 then let go of the mooring and moved just outside the harbor and happily anchored.
Edgartown is a beautiful little village with lots of expensive shops and plenty of restaurants and beaches. We met our friends Bernie and Aiden Gleeson, who gave us the use of their ball in Newport. We walked around the town with them a bit and chose a restaurant to go to for dinner. When we returned to our mooring the sky opened up with torrential rain and lasted for over 2 hours. It started to soften by 6PM so we took the launch in and picked up the Gleeson's on the way. We had a delightful dinner at an Italian restaurant and returned by 9:30PM. Because it was high tide and the wind was blowing the tide into town we found the docks under ankle deep water when we returned to get the launch back to our boats.
The next day we rode our bikes about 2 miles to a beach and soaked up the sun and salt air for a bit. On the way back to Edgartown Peter's rear tire was failing. We found a little bike shop who replaced the tire for $25 so we are now good to continue riding.
On our third day in Edgartown we moved off the mooring and anchored just outside the harbor entrance. Later that after noon our friends on s/v Brenna arrived from Nantucket. We had a lovely evening with drinks, appetizers, and watched a glorious sun set. We planned to go to Block Island tomorrow so we had an early bed time.
We had not been in Edgartown on our own boat. Two or three times in the past Peter tried to call for reservations for the long fourth of July weekend and could not get through or it was already booked. There is such a process to get a mooring with dates, specific times, online reservations only etc. Tuesday, when Jane called by phone to get a mooring they told her check in/out was 11AM, that reservations are only online and to call back at 11AM. When we arrived at the harbor entrance she again called on her cell and got exactly the same statement. She told them we were at the harbor entrance but they wanted us to hail on VHF when we entered. Not 5 minutes later we arrived in the harbor so Peter hailed and we were instantly directed to a mooring. What a process!! There were at least a dozen moorings empty the 2 days we were there. Again today, 2 days later, Jane asked the collection boat to take payment for 1 more night. She was told, again, that check in/out was 11AM and to call them back at 10:45 to see if it was available. We could count at least 20 mooring balls empty. So we sat until 10:30 then let go of the mooring and moved just outside the harbor and happily anchored.
Edgartown is a beautiful little village with lots of expensive shops and plenty of restaurants and beaches. We met our friends Bernie and Aiden Gleeson, who gave us the use of their ball in Newport. We walked around the town with them a bit and chose a restaurant to go to for dinner. When we returned to our mooring the sky opened up with torrential rain and lasted for over 2 hours. It started to soften by 6PM so we took the launch in and picked up the Gleeson's on the way. We had a delightful dinner at an Italian restaurant and returned by 9:30PM. Because it was high tide and the wind was blowing the tide into town we found the docks under ankle deep water when we returned to get the launch back to our boats.
The next day we rode our bikes about 2 miles to a beach and soaked up the sun and salt air for a bit. On the way back to Edgartown Peter's rear tire was failing. We found a little bike shop who replaced the tire for $25 so we are now good to continue riding.
Aug 1, 2012
Cuttyhunk...a favorite spot
Monday, July 30
We left our mooring at the point in Newport and motored into Newport Harbor to fill with water. They have a little floating dock which boats can tie up to for water. By 8:30AM we were on our way to Cuttyhunk. It was a beautiful sunny day to sail. The wind was hovering around 8-10K and we were joined by about 10 other boats all heading toward Buzzards Bay. The current was with us all the way.
Once we arrived in Cuttyhunk pond we motored around the perimeter to anchor but another boat beat us to the spot so we just picked up a mooring for the night and went ashore. there is not much there but we love it anyway.
We left our mooring at the point in Newport and motored into Newport Harbor to fill with water. They have a little floating dock which boats can tie up to for water. By 8:30AM we were on our way to Cuttyhunk. It was a beautiful sunny day to sail. The wind was hovering around 8-10K and we were joined by about 10 other boats all heading toward Buzzards Bay. The current was with us all the way.
Once we arrived in Cuttyhunk pond we motored around the perimeter to anchor but another boat beat us to the spot so we just picked up a mooring for the night and went ashore. there is not much there but we love it anyway.
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| Cuttyhunk pond |
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| Harbormasters office |
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| local shop |
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| interesting way to grow pole beans |
Jul 29, 2012
Moving on
We arrived in Newport last Tuesday and will leave here tomorrow. It has rained almost every day we have been here but mostly in the evening. We are not sure of our destination. It will be Cuttyhunk or Martha's Vineyard. The weather is showing 2 really nice days then 2 days of possible rain. We will make sure we are in a protected harbor for Wed. and Thurs.
Our time in Newport was spent between relaxing on the boat, watching boat traffic, touring the harbor in the dingy, dodging raindrops, and spending time ashore visiting Sarah's house to watch Olympics on her TV. At least their dog, Petey, kept us company as every one else was working.
Yesterday we had a lovely day ashore withe our friend Ian McMahon, Betsy, Brendan, and his friend. They are en route to Nantucket for a week. We will connect with then again on Thursday or Friday as they make their way back to Mystic.
Our time in Newport was spent between relaxing on the boat, watching boat traffic, touring the harbor in the dingy, dodging raindrops, and spending time ashore visiting Sarah's house to watch Olympics on her TV. At least their dog, Petey, kept us company as every one else was working.
Yesterday we had a lovely day ashore withe our friend Ian McMahon, Betsy, Brendan, and his friend. They are en route to Nantucket for a week. We will connect with then again on Thursday or Friday as they make their way back to Mystic.
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| Ian and Betsy at the Black Pearl |
Jul 24, 2012
Moved to downtown Newport
We left the dock at NEB by 9:30AM and travelled a quick 8 miles to downtown Newport. After circling the inner harbor to look at all the boats great and small we went around Goat Island towards the Newport Bridge and picked up a mooring ball. Our friends, the Gleeson's, are gone for a month and graciously allowed us to tie up as a guest. We can stay for a week. We are close to downtown Newport without having the busy traffic and noise. It is also close to Sarah's house where we stored our car. If you check on the Kinvara map we have marked her location. It could be worse. We are looking at the Newport bridge and can watch the outer harbor. Right now there is a north wind from squalls and the fetch is creating lots of movement but it actually is refreshing to move again after being so sheltered at the dock.
Last 2 weeks at New England Boatworks
After returning from Florida with our car we had a wonderful week of cooler weather. So we put ourselves to work on the boat to complete some necessary work. Jane started working on cleaning and waxing the smooth deck top and then worked on cleaning and waxing the non skid deck top...all 43 feet of it. That took 3 days of elbow grease. Thank goodness for the clouds!! Peter started in the forward head to fix our leaky and very noisy manual pump toilet. It requires taking the pump assembly off and changing out some parts before reassemble and greasing it. We are happy to report that it now works perfectly. It's a shitty job but someone has to do it! Next Peter tackled the 4 winches, He took each one apart to wash with mineral oil, sudsy water, then re lubricate. Each winch had so many parts which needed to be put back into place. It reminded us of being in Georgetown, Exumas when the wind generator came apart and had to be fixed. Boating is just fixing things in exotic places!
We left on Saturday morning to visit friends in Quincey, Carmel and Martin. We had an Irish breakfast brunch and stayed the afternoon talking and talking...and talking. It's great to catch up on everything again. We left late afternoon to spend the weekend with Jane's brother, Jim. He lives in Shirley, MA and we had not seen him since September. We had a lovely time eating out Sat. and Sun. night and visiting Rockport, MA. This is one of our favorite places we travelled by boat. We stopped there 3 times!
On the way back to Rhode Island Jane stopped by the cemetery in Framingham to visit her parents grave and her grandparents. Always a sad moment in time. Once back in Newport we headed to Sarah's house to celebrate Jane's 63 birthday. We went to Goat Island to an outdoor bar, Pineapples, at the Hyatt. Then back to Sarah's house where Natalie met us and we had dinner there. Sarah made an "island pork" roast in the slow cooker. Yummy. It was so nice to have my 2 girls with me again.
Our last week at the marina brought Florida weather....hot and humid. We spent our time doing errands in the air conditioned car and going back and forth to Sarah's house. finally on Thursday we packed a lunch and drove to Cape Cod for a visit to a few marinas. That made the day a little more bearable. By the time we got back to the boat, apx. 4:30, there was a severe thunder storm at our doorstep. We made it back aboard just before the deluge. Jane was standing on the companionway steps watching when we heard an explosion. Jane saw lightening hit a mast with sparks flying. the boat was on land so it's mast head wad in a higher location. This is the second time we have seen severe lightening very close since being back in RI.
This weekend we saw many boat friends before we leave the dock...hoping to see them again before we return to Florida! So today is Tuesday, July 24 and our month is up at the marina. We will push off the dock later and start cruising around for the next month.
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| Add caption |
We left on Saturday morning to visit friends in Quincey, Carmel and Martin. We had an Irish breakfast brunch and stayed the afternoon talking and talking...and talking. It's great to catch up on everything again. We left late afternoon to spend the weekend with Jane's brother, Jim. He lives in Shirley, MA and we had not seen him since September. We had a lovely time eating out Sat. and Sun. night and visiting Rockport, MA. This is one of our favorite places we travelled by boat. We stopped there 3 times!
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| Motif #1 Called this because it's been painted so many times. |
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| US Coast Guard training sailboat |
On the way back to Rhode Island Jane stopped by the cemetery in Framingham to visit her parents grave and her grandparents. Always a sad moment in time. Once back in Newport we headed to Sarah's house to celebrate Jane's 63 birthday. We went to Goat Island to an outdoor bar, Pineapples, at the Hyatt. Then back to Sarah's house where Natalie met us and we had dinner there. Sarah made an "island pork" roast in the slow cooker. Yummy. It was so nice to have my 2 girls with me again.
Our last week at the marina brought Florida weather....hot and humid. We spent our time doing errands in the air conditioned car and going back and forth to Sarah's house. finally on Thursday we packed a lunch and drove to Cape Cod for a visit to a few marinas. That made the day a little more bearable. By the time we got back to the boat, apx. 4:30, there was a severe thunder storm at our doorstep. We made it back aboard just before the deluge. Jane was standing on the companionway steps watching when we heard an explosion. Jane saw lightening hit a mast with sparks flying. the boat was on land so it's mast head wad in a higher location. This is the second time we have seen severe lightening very close since being back in RI.
This weekend we saw many boat friends before we leave the dock...hoping to see them again before we return to Florida! So today is Tuesday, July 24 and our month is up at the marina. We will push off the dock later and start cruising around for the next month.
Jul 8, 2012
First Week in Newport
Our week began without a car so we took our time to get the boat cleaned and organized after 5 weeks of traveling. Our first business was laundry on Monday. That took most of the morning. Jane tackled some cleaning and waxing of the deck and taking the ICW brown stain off the hull. Now we look a bit more respectable!! Tuesday our friends Joe and Jackie came to meet us. We had a great day visiting and driving around Newport. Lunch was in The Lobster Bar where Sarah's boyfriend is the manager. The lobster rolls were yummy. Wednesday was more cleaning until Sarah showed up and took us to her new house rental in Newport so Peter could see it. We got our doggie "fix" playing with her dog Petey. Thursday we again went to Sarah's house to celebrate Peter's 63 birthday and Eric's 35 birthday. We had steaks on the grill with all the fixings. Then strawberry shortcake for dessert and gifts. Peter and I stayed overnight and Sarah brought us back in the morning before work. Friday we stayed at the marina and met up with some friends we knew when we were here before. On Saturday Sarah picked us up again to go to the farmers market then back to her house. Peter cut the grass in the back while Sarah and Jane went shopping to the Christmas Tree Shop (a real New England favorite). Since Sarah was working we kept her car and went into Newport. Luck had us finding free parking right in the middle of town! After walking around the shops we went to the ferry dock to try and find an old friend of Peter, Brian Moore. We had lost touch with him many years ago but on the chance he still lived in Newport Peter called the only listing for Brian in the phone book. Peter found from his wife Mary that Brian is now a captain of the Newport Jamestown ferry. At the ferry dock we spoke to the harbormaster who knew Brian very well so he was able to get us onto Brian's ferry and surprise him! After a short ride to Ft Adams (where the America's Cup series was) we departed the ferry with a promise to see Brian and his wife again. We walked right into the America's Cup village and watched a few of the very exciting races offshore. Tomorrow will be our full day at the races with the girls so we did not stay too long. We returned to the boat for the night with Sarah's car.
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| Sarah's little Newport house |
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| Our marina pool |
America's Cup World Series Trials
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Our day started off early with breakfast at a diner with Sarah. We were expecting Natalie down but she was running late so we got take out for her and Eric. We left the house at 10AM to get to Ft Adams early. There was no delay in the traffic and we easily made it to the parking lot by 10:30 and started our hike into Ft Adams to get a spot to watch the races. We were loaded down with bags, chairs, and towels. It was going to be a hot day in the sun. We found a great spot on the rocks just in front of the finish line. We would be able to see all but the most southern leg of the races. It did not take long before the rocks became very crowded but we knew we were in a good spot because we were just above the high tide line. Sarah, Natalie, and Jane took off to look around the America's Cup village shops and food booths. Of course they stopped at the Moet champagne booth at 11:30 and had a "refreshment" before returning to the rocks. Our friend Ian Mac Mahon arrived in Newport to anchor (after midnight!) so he joined us on the rocks with his sister Fiona, son Brendan, and girlfriend Betsy. We had quite a crew cheering for the 2 USA boats. It was hot but we had a constant ocean breeze to keep us comfortable.
After some very exciting races we decided to head out in the crowd to go back to Sarah's house for a cookout. Our walk back to the car was a very long route so Sarah and Natalie walked on ahead to get the car and pick us up on the way out. Peter and Jane stopped near the park entrance to wait for the girls to drive our way. Unfortunately a storm decided to break loose right on top of us. It poured rain with thunder and lightening all around us. We were soaked by the time we got to the car! There were so many people leaving the races that it took us about 2 hours to get to the car and get ourselves back to Sarah's house. After hamburgers and potato salad for dinner Natalie drove us back to the boat. We were exhausted but it was a great day. We now have to pack for our quick trip back to Florida to collect our car.
Our day started off early with breakfast at a diner with Sarah. We were expecting Natalie down but she was running late so we got take out for her and Eric. We left the house at 10AM to get to Ft Adams early. There was no delay in the traffic and we easily made it to the parking lot by 10:30 and started our hike into Ft Adams to get a spot to watch the races. We were loaded down with bags, chairs, and towels. It was going to be a hot day in the sun. We found a great spot on the rocks just in front of the finish line. We would be able to see all but the most southern leg of the races. It did not take long before the rocks became very crowded but we knew we were in a good spot because we were just above the high tide line. Sarah, Natalie, and Jane took off to look around the America's Cup village shops and food booths. Of course they stopped at the Moet champagne booth at 11:30 and had a "refreshment" before returning to the rocks. Our friend Ian Mac Mahon arrived in Newport to anchor (after midnight!) so he joined us on the rocks with his sister Fiona, son Brendan, and girlfriend Betsy. We had quite a crew cheering for the 2 USA boats. It was hot but we had a constant ocean breeze to keep us comfortable.
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| Natalie and Sarah |
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| Start of the exciting race |
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| Overall winner...Team USA Oracle |
After some very exciting races we decided to head out in the crowd to go back to Sarah's house for a cookout. Our walk back to the car was a very long route so Sarah and Natalie walked on ahead to get the car and pick us up on the way out. Peter and Jane stopped near the park entrance to wait for the girls to drive our way. Unfortunately a storm decided to break loose right on top of us. It poured rain with thunder and lightening all around us. We were soaked by the time we got to the car! There were so many people leaving the races that it took us about 2 hours to get to the car and get ourselves back to Sarah's house. After hamburgers and potato salad for dinner Natalie drove us back to the boat. We were exhausted but it was a great day. We now have to pack for our quick trip back to Florida to collect our car.
A visit with the Daleys
Saturday July 7
The best part of cruising is meeting new friends who you just click with and enjoy their company. The worst part of cruising is eventually you have to part ways and say goodbye. We have been so fortunate along our travels to meet some friends who we have kept in touch with and meet up with again. This winter when we were in the Abacos we met Bill and Linda Daley from Ashland, Ma. They were on their first trip to the Bahamas aboard s/v Ceili. We had a great time together for the last 3 weeks of our visit and even travelled back to the US together. They returned to their home port of East Greenwich, RI in May. Yesterday we drove to their marina to meet up again. What a great time. We spent the entire afternoon reliving our time in the Bahamas, our highs and lows of the return trip north, boating in general, kids, etc. etc. etc. When we leave the dock at our current marina we hope to rendezvous around the area for some more fun cruising, beach barbecues, dingy races, and a sunset goombay smash. Peter and Bill will have to have another conch blowing contest at sunset! We miss Gail and Hans and Linda and Craig who were part of our Abaco crew.
The best part of cruising is meeting new friends who you just click with and enjoy their company. The worst part of cruising is eventually you have to part ways and say goodbye. We have been so fortunate along our travels to meet some friends who we have kept in touch with and meet up with again. This winter when we were in the Abacos we met Bill and Linda Daley from Ashland, Ma. They were on their first trip to the Bahamas aboard s/v Ceili. We had a great time together for the last 3 weeks of our visit and even travelled back to the US together. They returned to their home port of East Greenwich, RI in May. Yesterday we drove to their marina to meet up again. What a great time. We spent the entire afternoon reliving our time in the Bahamas, our highs and lows of the return trip north, boating in general, kids, etc. etc. etc. When we leave the dock at our current marina we hope to rendezvous around the area for some more fun cruising, beach barbecues, dingy races, and a sunset goombay smash. Peter and Bill will have to have another conch blowing contest at sunset! We miss Gail and Hans and Linda and Craig who were part of our Abaco crew.
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| Peter and Bill |
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| Jane and Linda |
A "Flying" Trip to Florida
July 2-July 5
On Monday July 2 we left Rhode Island to fly back to Florida. Jane got free flights with her Visa card so we flew from Providence airport to Baltimore then on to Orlando. As always we enjoy Southwest and got good seats. Our friends Fred and Verena picked us up at the airport at 10PM then home by 11PM. It was midnight before we got to bed. In the morning we went into Celebration for breakfast at our favorite diner then Peter got his haircut....finally!! It was a long 6 weeks without a haircut.
When we returned home we went to visit our neighbors Jack and Claire for a bit then we all returned to our house for a swim in the pool. We really miss our pool on the hot summer days. Dinner was with Fred and Verena who also invited our other friends over for dessert. Everyone showed up with birthday cards for both of us. What a nice surprise. It was a really short visit to Florida but we so appreciate every one's friendship and being "fed" while there!
Wednesday, July 4th found us driving to Sanford, Florida in our Escape to board the auto train. Amtrak runs this train daily between Sanford, FL and Lorton, VA. We checked in at 2PM and were able to board the train by 2:30. Our cabin was called a "roomette". It consists of two facing seats with a fold up table and a top bunk which fold down into a bed. It was great to ride in as seats while the train was moving but at night it was a little small when both beds were made up. We had a porter who made the beds while we were at dinner. Now the best part of the trip, included in the ticket price, is a wine, cheese and snack in the afternoon, dinner and dessert in the dining car, and continental breakfast in the morning. The train left Florida at 4PM and we arrived in Lorton, VA on July 5th at 8:30AM.
Our car was unloaded by 9:30AM and we arrived back in Newport, RI by 6PM. This saved us a 14 hour driving day through the southern states and made the entire trip feel much shorter. It was a nice experience and we would do it again.
On Monday July 2 we left Rhode Island to fly back to Florida. Jane got free flights with her Visa card so we flew from Providence airport to Baltimore then on to Orlando. As always we enjoy Southwest and got good seats. Our friends Fred and Verena picked us up at the airport at 10PM then home by 11PM. It was midnight before we got to bed. In the morning we went into Celebration for breakfast at our favorite diner then Peter got his haircut....finally!! It was a long 6 weeks without a haircut.
When we returned home we went to visit our neighbors Jack and Claire for a bit then we all returned to our house for a swim in the pool. We really miss our pool on the hot summer days. Dinner was with Fred and Verena who also invited our other friends over for dessert. Everyone showed up with birthday cards for both of us. What a nice surprise. It was a really short visit to Florida but we so appreciate every one's friendship and being "fed" while there!
Wednesday, July 4th found us driving to Sanford, Florida in our Escape to board the auto train. Amtrak runs this train daily between Sanford, FL and Lorton, VA. We checked in at 2PM and were able to board the train by 2:30. Our cabin was called a "roomette". It consists of two facing seats with a fold up table and a top bunk which fold down into a bed. It was great to ride in as seats while the train was moving but at night it was a little small when both beds were made up. We had a porter who made the beds while we were at dinner. Now the best part of the trip, included in the ticket price, is a wine, cheese and snack in the afternoon, dinner and dessert in the dining car, and continental breakfast in the morning. The train left Florida at 4PM and we arrived in Lorton, VA on July 5th at 8:30AM.
Our car was unloaded by 9:30AM and we arrived back in Newport, RI by 6PM. This saved us a 14 hour driving day through the southern states and made the entire trip feel much shorter. It was a nice experience and we would do it again.
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| our sleeper car |
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| The dining car |
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| The first car being unloaded |
Jun 25, 2012
Newport at Last
After a delightful weekend in Block Island and 5 weeks after leaving Cape Canaveral we left our mooring at 8AM to head to Newport. The wind was blowing, the sun was shining, and we had a wonderful sail to Newport. Moving through the harbor it was easy to tell the season has begun. It was full of sailboats large and small most under full sail. Of course there were also 3 barges towed by tugs that passed coming or going. It was a very busy day. We did not see any America Cup boats out and about though. We arrived back to our former marina and tied up by 1PM. Our daughter, Sarah, was there to meet us with lunch in tow. We had a wonderful reunion talking non stop while eating lunch. We also saw lots of old friends; Dave and Judy on Escape and Donal and Bridget on Ireland's Eye passed us in Newport Harbor, Mark and Mary on The Good Life hailed us on VHF radio from Dutch Harbor, Eric and Jen from Antares arrived on our dock headed to their boat, Rich and Don and Barbara from dock 400 called over. It feels like home already.
Jane went with Sarah to see her new house rental in Newport and walk the dog while Peter stayed on Kinvara to hook up the electricity. When Jane returned she found friends, Bernie and Aiden from Lambay were on board visiting. What a warm welcome. We are suffering from sticker shock though with the higher dockage prices here in the north!
The day ended with Sarah, Mark and Mary Woodard for dinner at The Grill restaurant here.
Jane went with Sarah to see her new house rental in Newport and walk the dog while Peter stayed on Kinvara to hook up the electricity. When Jane returned she found friends, Bernie and Aiden from Lambay were on board visiting. What a warm welcome. We are suffering from sticker shock though with the higher dockage prices here in the north!
The day ended with Sarah, Mark and Mary Woodard for dinner at The Grill restaurant here.
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| Lighthouse at Castle Hill. |
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| Castle Hill Resort |
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| Schooner by the Dumplings. |
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| Mega yacht working on the rigging. |
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| Passing under the Newport Bridge |
Block Island or Bust!
We originally thought we would leave Port Jefferson to have some current with us but we woke early...real early. We are so far east now that it is bright enough to wake up at 4:30. So we had coffee, got dressed, and reviewed our options. By 6:30 we were ready to leave even though we had some current against us we would pick it up again in 6 or 7 hours. Today's trip is 75 miles and goes through a narrow cut through 2 islands. The current can be so strong that it is impossible to get through. Timing is everything for today's trip. We were approaching the cut about 1:30 and noticed the current change. Our boat speed started increasing. By the time we got to Plum Gut we had a 2.5k current with us going through. The day was beautiful and much cooler than the last 2 days. We knew the heat wave was over. The wind increased and the sails went up. On a close haul straight to Block Island we were loving it.....until we heard the Coast Guard put out a weather warning for sever storms over Long Island and boaters should seek safe harbor immediately. We were not in Long Island anymore so Jane checked the weather radar on the phone. Sure enough most of the storm was moving north of us but there were other cells moving in our direction. We kept the sails up and motored as well with only 12 miles to go. We could see Block Island in the distance. With only 4-5 miles left the winds started to increase, indicating the edge of a front, so we reefed both sails but kept up our boat speed. At 6PM we entered the harbor under half sail....so happy to beat the storm but so happy to be back again. We were able to pick up a mooring ball just before the storm broke. The wind gusts picked up immediately and the 2 smaller motor boats started swinging wildly. The boat behind us was too small to pull back on his mooring chain and he swung behind us dragging his mooring ball and line under our transom making the wheel swing wildly around. Fortunately there was no damage to our rudder.
The rest of the evening was spent with our friend, Ian Mc Mahon and his sister Fiona, who came to our boat for dinner. We grilled steaks and had shrimp & mashed potato. Yummy! The next day Peter assembled our folding bikes and we rode into town. The quaint New England atmosphere was every where....and the profusion of flowers. That is part of what we miss after moving to Florida.
The rest of the evening was spent with our friend, Ian Mc Mahon and his sister Fiona, who came to our boat for dinner. We grilled steaks and had shrimp & mashed potato. Yummy! The next day Peter assembled our folding bikes and we rode into town. The quaint New England atmosphere was every where....and the profusion of flowers. That is part of what we miss after moving to Florida.  |
| Local hotel |
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| Fiona and Ian |
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| Harbor from 'The Oar' bar |
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