We’ve gotten a late start due to an engagement in Boston and a wedding just after July 4th, but we’re back on the water for the summer! We have no particular goals other than to sail Maine. Can’t wait to revisit some of our favorite former spots and find some new ones.
Ugh. No wind or prevailing winds from the north east, and Trip didn’t want to sit and wait a few days for winds to shift to something more favorable, so we opted to motor. The ride up the East River in New York, normally one of my favorites, was rather unpleasant this time with the wind directly against us. Trip likes to have the mainsail up even when we’re motoring (just in case there’s ever a problem), but it was nearly impossible to keep the main cinched in tight enough and the reefing lines were flogging the main pretty hard. We were able to motor-sail once we were in Long Island sound and made it as far as Port Jefferson that day.
Still no wind the next day so we motor-sailed to Fishers Island. We could have gone all the way to Block Island that night, but we would have been anchoring nearly in the dark, not an experience I like with the amount of boats in that anchorage. We were the only boat at anchor in the cove we picked, though there was a huge 200 foot mega yacht across the sound in CT on view. Because we got in early we were able to enjoy cocktails and dinner out in the cockpit as the sun went down. Unfortunately, we also had a visitor in the shape of a very persistent and annoying gull that kept landing on the dinghy in the davits or the top of the radar. I joked that Fishers Island is full of millionaires, but they can’t afford to upgrade their waterfowl? : )
It was a quick hop over to Block in the morning. The one advantage of having not done the outside overnight run was that we didn’t desperately need naps. We set the anchor as usual in the deepest part of the anchorage, and hung out to make sure it set properly (boats are notorious for dragging here when people anchor and immediately go ashore). I wanted lunch at The Oar, so we stopped for a quick bite and then wandered into town. I was window shopping along the way, when Trip announced he really, really wanted a drink at Ballards. We found chairs at the bar, ordered drinks, and proceeded to watch all the drunk, sunburned, bikini clad (whether they ought to or not), folks dancing and singing along with the band. Not five minutes later our friends Joe & Stef from Wisconsin surprised us (I barely recognized Stef, she was impersonating the drunks way too well)!
Turns out Trip had contacted them a few weeks earlier and made arrangements so they could fly out for my birthday. We hung at the bar for a while and then started back for the boat, introducing them to town along the way. We wound up enjoying cocktails and dinner on board that night, catching up.
The next day we rented a car since we had limited time to cover the entire island, and also wanted to get some hiking in. We drove north and then hiked out to the north light house, only to discover it was closed that day (if we had read the trailhead sign more closely we would have noticed that). It was still a nice walk, and we discovered gull chicks that were being guarded by their protective parents, but still posed for pictures. We then headed south to Mohegan Bluffs where we climbed the stairs down to the beach and admired the new off-shore wind turbines. After that it was lunch on the porch at the Spring House, and a leisurely stroll back to the boat. A shower & a cocktail, then we dinghied over to the sandy landing & walked down the road to Town Beach where they had a Blues On The Block concert going. There we got together with new friends Mads & Lotta (fellow OCC members, Swedish, cruising for three years & we met them back in Great Kills several weeks ago).
Listening to fun music, dancing on the beach & enjoying the company of good friends – hard to beat. Dinner was particularly notable that night as Stef and I experimented with colombo curry that I had brought back from Guadeloupe (the only type of curry Trip can eat), and we had a fabulous curry stew!
The weather was turning a bit the next day, so Joe & Stef opted to leave a night early. We dumped their bags in the lockers and then wandered town a bit, winding up at the local brewpub for lunch. Then it was hugs and kisses and they were back on the ferry heading to the mainland. Way too short of a visit……
Good thing they left early though as we got pounded with rain late in the evening into the early morning – it would have been a really wet dinghy ride getting to town. We waited for the rain to pass, then spent Friday getting organized for our next guests.
Natalie and her roomate Lillie came over Saturday morning. We had lunch at the renovated Surf Hotel (now a boutique inn charging up to $500 a night!), then spent the day shopping in town, including another round of watching the drunk dancers at Ballards (can’t help it, it’s like it’s my own personal reality tv show).
We headed back to the boat for a quick shower, cocktails, and then headed back in for dinner.
Unfortunately we didn’t exit the dinghy properly. As Natalie got out I didn’t shift from port to center fast enough and Trip was also caught on the port side in the rear. Next thing we knew the back end of the boat was under water and Trip was swimming. I managed to only get soaked from the waist down and was able to haul myself out. Luckily other cruisers were on the dock and helped us haul the dink out of the water to drain her. One cruiser went out in his dinghy to rescue our one gallon gas can, and Lillie managed to scoop up one of Trip’s sandals (Olukais are expensive!). Everything else was stowed in the drybag, so in good shape. We ran up to Dead Eye Dicks and requested a table for four and a T-shirt for poor soaked Trip.
The girls and I took the launch back to the boat after dinner, and amazingly, Trip showed up in the dinghy (he rowed back) just as we made it back. We changed into dry clothes, got everyone set, and passed out for the night.
The girls had to leave the next day, so we hiked back into town and wandered around a bit more. Once they were on the ferry, we popped back over to Ballards, this time to watch the men’s final at Wimbledon. Little did we know we’d be sitting at the bar watching the longest game ever, but really a great one. We wandered back to the dinghy dock and Mahogany Shoals at Paynes to have a drink, only to find out there was a mako shark tournament going on. We saw some incredible sharks being brought in, but it was a bit sad after a while to see them killed just in the name of sport, so it was time to leave to head back to the boat.
Trip hauled the outboard up into the cockpit and set it up as he had last done in St Thomas when we were having outboard problems. A day later, he had her running again – my hero! We could have left the next day, but opted to stay because of lack of wind. Though you wouldn’t know it – it can be completely mild in Block Island Sound, but the wind will howl through the Great Salt Pond. I spent the day watching anchoring mishaps (a favorite pasttime). We had already watched one irresponsible boater drop much too little anchor line and promptly drag (luckily not toward us), forcing another boat to move to avoid getting hit. On the other hand we also had a 63 ft classic replica pull up along side us to confirm where our anchor and chain was lying so they wouldn’t cover it as they anchored. We already had to ask one boat to move as they were yawing (swinging in an arc) much faster than us because they were so light – they came dangerously close a few times, but were very gracious about moving. Then the fireworks began. A modern 48 foot boat came in and, despite the room in the anchorage, kept picking all the wrong spots. On his fourth try he wound up in a good hole – if he never moved. Unfortunately he was another light modern boat with a huge tendency to yaw – and his new neighbors were not happy. After alot of yelling (though no profanity), he finally disappeared to another spot in the anchorage. My cocktail hour was complete.
Two final notes on Block Island this year. There’s a brand new dinghy dock co-sponsored by the owner of Dead Eye Dicks. This is a huge improvement on what was there at The Oar, and we are happily spending money at Dead Eye Dicks as a thank you. They’re quieter anyway, and if you show up toward the end of the lunch hour, you have the place to yourself and they even change the music to classical (a welcome surprise). The other note is about the Maritime Institute, offering all sorts of programs for visiting or resident kids on the island. They have two tanks filled with marine flora and fauna collected from the Great Salt Pond. You can stop in on a daily basis to check in and see what’s new.
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