|
Contact Infrared by Boat Phone: 410-371-3543.
|
|||||||
| REPORTING DATE | LOCATION | COMMENTS | PICTURES (Click on image for larger version) |
||||
| Monday May 29, 2017 |
Chesapeake City, MD | Infrared departed Tidewater on time at 0700 for the 50 nm trip to Cheaspeake City. Timing was dictated by need for a favorable current up the bay and in the canal. It worked out well, we arrived at 1400 showing an average speed of 7 knots, and beating the reversal of current at 1500 hrs. Not enough wind to sail, but motor sailing is not so unpleasant when making good time. |
Infrared gets ready the day before.
|
||||
|
|||||||
| Tuesday May 30, 2017 |
Cape May, NJ | Delaware Bay is well known as an often difficult body of water and it didn't disappoint. We left Chesapeake City at 9:00 am as the current turned eastward and had a fast ride out to the bay, but upon turning more southward the wind continued to increase getting up into the 15 to 20 knot range and, most damagingly, directly on the nose. When the current in the bay reversed and it, too, was on the nose, that's an ugly combination. We were slogging along sometimes at as little as 2.5 kt with 45 nm to go.
The second necessity for the trip to Cape May (the first being the need to ride a favorable current as far south as possible)is the need to arrive in the Cape May Canal at low tide (at 6:30 pm on this day) so Infrared could get under the two 55 ft high bridges and enter the harbor. During the afternoon slog, it was looking like an impossible challenge and we were planning for a course to round the actual tip of New Jersey. But late in the afternoon, the current reversed and gave us a southerly push. Most of the lift was initially cancelled out by the head wind and waves. But slowly the wind diminished allowing forward progress. The end result was that we approached the first bridge at 8:15 pm hoping the water was still low enough for clearance. With great aprehension we came up to the bridge and saw that we could get under with about 6 inches between the VHF antenna and the bridge, a great relief. Utsch's Marina has hosted Infrared many times, and, once again, they were a welcome sight and a welcoming host. |
Nasty Delaware Bay slogging.
|
||||
| Thursday June 1, 2017 |
Block Island, RI | After a tough day Tuesday getting into Cape May, on Wednesday morning, we fueled up and headed out into the Atlantic for the trek directly to Block Island. Over the past few days, the weather offered a promise of dry conditions, blue skies and sunshine, and a favorable west to southwest wind. Well, that promise didn't hold up.
We spent most of the 32 hour passage motor sailing through alternating periods of fog, clouds, dampness and unhelpful wind. Brief appearances of the sun were welcome, but short lived. It's not all that interesting motoring along in ½ mile visibility and then adding the darkness of night the journey becomes a real chore. Thunderstorms in distance were enough of a concern that we put a reef in the main sail at 3:00 am, but the storms stayed away. During the final few hours, the sun came out as we neared Montauk Point and Infrared arrived at Payne's Dock in Salt Pond on Block Island at 5:20 pm under blue skies. Cliff Payne stayed on after closing to let us fill the diesel tanks and keeping the showers open a little longer, a most hospitable gesture on his part. |
Into the Atlantic.
Momentary clearing shows trouble.
Entering Salt Pond.
Payne's Dock on Salt Pond.
|
||||
| Friday June 2, 2017 |
Newport, RI | We arrived in Newport at about 2:00 pm after a terrific sail from Block Island. Wing on wing at 7.0 - 7.5 knots right up to Fort Adams. We have an excellent slip at the Newport Yacht Club and will stay here until Monday. It was at times a greuling trip to get here, but it's all behind us now.
It's now Friday evening Happy Hour, so we adjourned to the Black Pearl, the traditional spot for arriving sailors to slosh down a few Dark & Stormies. I don't remember anything else... |
Great sailing out of Block Island.
That's Newport ahead!
Mandatory stop in Newport.
|
||||
| Saturday, June 3, 2017 |
Newport, RI | Today was mainly spent repairing a broken traveler cam cleat support. We Uber'ed to Middletown to a hardware store where we found aluminum angle stock and also bought our own grease gun to keep the rudder bearing serviced. We had been shipping far too much water into the bilge while traveling from Cape May to Block Island. Under way, Steve climbed below and saw the leaking rudder post housing so we needed to get an injection of grease, which we were able to do at Payne's Dock on Block Island, but thought it wise to have our own gun if needed in the future.
Greg left for Baltimore today. |
No longer leaky rudder post.
|
||||
| Sunday, June 4, 2017 |
Newport, RI | Terry and Anne arrived from Baltimore in the early afternoon and we all checked into the Newport Marriott (which is just across the street from the Newport Yacht Club...very handy!).
Some walking tourism and dinner at the Red Parrot occupied of the day. |
|||||
| Monday, June 5, 2017 |
Edgartown, MA Martha's Vineyard |
Over the weekend, the weather forecst for today was positively forbidding for sailing from Newport to Martha's Vineyard. 15-30 knot winds on the nose, with rain, fog, and chilly overcast had been thoroughly discouraging. However, late in the day it became apparent that the main thrust of the weather system would keep far enough south that our proposed route might be managable.
So, telling the Newport YC dock master that we might be back in short order, we ventured out past Ft. Adams to see if the forcast 6-10 knots (still on the nose) could allow us to get to Menemsha, a small port on the (near) western end of Martha's Vineyard, a mere 32 nm away. It was a compromise not sailing into Edgartown, but once we were on the island, the bus service could get us to all other parts. The plan worked out. After about six hours, we arrived in Menemsha and tied to the dock. The bus took us to Edgartown on the other end of the island where we had reserved rooms at an inn. |
Off to Martha's Vineyard.
Cloudy, drizzly, foggy and damp.
Hearty crew arriving in Menemsha.
Infrared at rest.
Chilly crew.
|
||||
| Tuesday June 6, 2017 |
Edgartown, MA Martha's Vineyard |
Good idea to get here yesterday even though the sailing conditions were less than ideal because today the sailing conditions are impossible! Still cloudy damp and cold, but today it's 50°F with winds NE 20-30kt, Infrared would be going nowhere and we would be freezing if we were out in Vineyard Sound.
But we are happily ensconced at Edgartown Commons, a few blockd from the center of town and one block from the bus terminal. A dreary, rainy day is a good day for a bus tour, so while Steve and Anne set off to see the sights of Edgartown, Bob and Terry took the scenic bus route to Oak Bluffs, switching buses at Vineyard Haven and ending up back at the boat in Menemsha (Martha's Vineyard has a fantastic, efficient, and cheap bus system). All was well with Infrared still at the dock and the Harbormaster still nowhere in sight. With the gale still blowing, we added an additional dock line just to be cautious. |
Use the bus to get around MV.
Blustery day in Vineyard Haven.
|
||||
| Wednesday June 7, 2017 |
Edgartown, MA Martha's Vineyard |
Finally, a day with sunshine and no rain, drizzle, or fog! This is our last full day to tour MV, so we strolled around Edgartown in the morning, visiting the light house at the harbor entrance after marveling at the magnificant houses on the road enroute.
In the afternoon, we took the bus to Oak Bluffs where we talked to the harbor master, viewed the mooring where Infrared lay in 2011, ate some fried clams and other delicacies, and did some shopping. Tomorrow, we sail back to Newport. The weather looks considerably more cooperative than when we came out. Looks like sunshine, 60°F, wind SE 5-10 kt (on our portside hip). The current should be in our favor for all but the first hour or so. We expect the 32 nm transit to take less than 6 hours. |
At the Edgartown City Dock.
Very nice, classic homes.
Edgartown Harbor entrance light.
|
||||
|
|||||||
| Thursday June 8, 2017 |
Newport, RI Newport Yacht Club |
Today provided a promising weather window for the ~30 nm trip out of Menemsha Harbor on Martha's Vineyard back to Newport. We decided not to take the chance that the sketchy forecast for Friday would go downhill, leaving us with a frantic run on Saturday, or a miserable slog on Friday. It worked out well. We left at 9:15 am on flat water, but the wind picked up to 10 kts to give us nice sailing conditions for about half of the passage (the other half was gentle motor sailing).
We arrived in Newport at 3:15 pm and the Newport Yacht Club put Infrared back in the same slip as before, the one right at the wharf and near to the club house and facilities. Steve and Anne leave tomorrow. |
Menemsha Harbor.
Gay Head on a calm morning.
Good sailing!
|
||||
| Friday June 9, 2017 |
Newport, RI Newport Yacht Club |
On a pleasant day, Infrared sits contentedly in the first slip at the Newport Yacht Club. Steve and Anne flew out of Providence back to Catonsville today, and Terry and I moved across the street to the Newport Marriott. We will be here through the weekend with Harry and John flying in on Tuesday and Terry leaving the boat soon thereafter. The plan is to then make our way down the Long Island Sound, past New York on the East River, and down the New Jersey coast to Cape May for the return to Baltimore. We won't be on a tight schedule, and expect to get back to Baltimore in about a week.
Being at the yacht club gives us the opportunity to do some chores (nb. laundry, general boat tidying) and the time to stroll around town being tourists and seek out spots for eating. |
Infrared at the Newport Yacht Club again.
|
||||
| Saturday June 10, 2017 |
Newport, RI Newport Yacht Club |
A few more housekeeping chores before lunch at the yacht club. Then we walked the few blocks to the Newport Ship Yard since that is where the really big sail and motor yachts can be found. Although fewer than on previous visits, there were some spectacular vessels there.
A circuitous walk up the hill to Bellvue Avenue (where the big mansions are) brought us to the US Tennis Hall of Fame where there are some of the best kept grass courts in the nation. Bob could only look at the courts and then at his fallen arches and feeble joints, and remember what it was like to play. We did return later to eat at the Racquets Bar, a basement place mainly frequented by local aristocrats, but it had been closed for several years and only recently re-opened, so the crowd of heiresses was sparse |
Big yachts at the shipyard.
Big yachts need big Travelifts.
JFK got married here.
|
||||
| Sunday June 11, 2017 |
Newport, RI Newport Yacht Club |
Today we relocated from the Newport Marriott to the Newport Jailhouse. No, we aren't under arrest, the old jail has been re-tooled into a pretty nice guesthouse. |
The Jailhouse.
|
||||
| Tuesday June 13, 2017 |
Newport, RI Newport Yacht Club |
Provisioned the boat in the morning, spent early afternoon waiting for John and Harry at the yacht club bar as they join the crew for the return home. We plan to leave tomorrow for Block Island and then make our way down the Long Island Sound. | Smarty Pants Phone failure...no pictures! | ||||
| Wednesday June 14, 2017 |
Block Island, RI Payne's Dock |
Infrared departed Newport today around 11:00 am destined for Block Island. Able to actually sail about 3/4 of the 25 nm with sunshine and 10 knots on the beam. Arrived in Salt Pond on Block Island before 4:00 pm and re-fueled at Payne's Dock where we stayed the night. Walked into Old Harbor to look around and get some drinks and dinner. |
Big yachts in Newport.
Infrared crew out of Newport.
|
||||
| Thursday June 15, 2017 |
Clinton, CT Cedar Island Marina |
Today was a very fast passage from Block Island into the Long Island Sound. We headed for The Race at 9:00 am timing it to arrive with the onset of the westbound current at 11:00 am. We hit it just right and sped along at over 9 kts for several hours, arriving in Clinton Harbor at 3:30 pm. |
Exiting Block Island.
Through The Race on Long Island Sound.
|
||||
| Friday June 16, 2017 |
Milford, CT Milford Boat Works |
Only 25 nm from Clinton to Milford on the Connecticut shore, but we encountered a return of the clouds, drizzle, and reduced visibility from earlier in this journey. However, we actually sailed at excellent speed for the entire passage. The east wind was a brisk 10-15 kt pushing us along with a favorable current so we made the trip in about 5 hours. We had to sail off the wind to keep the boat from following seas and jibe possibility so our average speed looks low.
Milford, CT, is a very attractive place with good wharfage and an accessable town center with many options for eating and drinking after the voyage. |
Tourists on the Boston Post Road in Milford.
Historic bridge.
|
||||
| Saturday June 17, 2017 |
City Island, NY South Minneford YC |
It started out as an innocuous motor sailing day with light or no wind to take us from Milford, CT, to City Island, NY. However, later on we sailed into a downpour that lasted for two hours and was still happening when we arrived at the South Minneford Yacht Club on City Island, NY.
This is the staging area for our run down the East River, past Hell Gate, by Manhatten, and into New York Harbor. The current is to turn in our favor at 5:30 am tomorrow, so we expect an early and fast ride. The bad news is that the winds along the New Jersey coast are expected to built to 15 - 25 kts from the SW which is seriously on the nose. If that materializes, we will be stuck until it changes, and that may be a few days. Where we are stuck, we will learn tomorrow. Maybe we can get to Manasquan, NJ, or it will likely be Atlantic Highlands, inside Sandy Hook. In either case, it is still a long way to Cape May. |
Rain that soaked us.
Lotta Laundry!
|
||||
| Sunday June 18, 2017 |
City Island, NY South Minneford YC |
It's not often that Bob gets up at 5:30 am on Sunday and the only thing he does is a load of laundry, but ridiculously dense fog made sailing down the East River through Hell Gate with visibility of less that a football field a dangerous and foolhearty idea. By the time the sun burned off the worst of the fog, our window of favorable current had passed.
We will try again tomorrow when the window is an hour later and, we hope, the morning fog is less restrictive. On Monday, however, the SW winds are expected to increase so it's uncertain how far we can get. |
Can't see the East River!
More Laundry!
|
||||
| Monday June 19, 2017 |
City Island, NY South Minneford YC |
Still on City Island! Again, our plan to leave early was thwarted when the early morning forecast warned of wind gusts SW to 30 knots and the prospect for severe thunderstorms, maybe even with a tornado, in the afternoon. We thought it better to remain secure on a known dock rather than hope to find somewhere to duck into when the trouble arrived.
This was good news for John and he headed directly off to the laundromat again! So it was a day spend securing the boat for big thunderstorm winds and other chores. Precisely at Happy Hour the storms rolled in. We called an Uber car but he took long enough to get to the boat yard that we had to dodge the downpour just to drink and eat. But it all worked out. |
Trouble brewing!
Precautions!
No drought on City Island!
Happy Hour torrent!
|
||||
| Tuesday June 20, 2017 |
Manasquan, NJ Hoffman's North Marina |
We finally escaped from City Island early this morning for the well timed passage with the current down the East River past Manhatten. This is always a treat because of the view it affords of the city and the waterways and the sights like Rikers Island Prison, Hell Gate, upper East Side luxury residences, the United Nations Building, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and more.
The sights were great during that part of the day, but the weather did not fully cooperate during the rest of the sojourn (no big surprise on this trip!). We put up a reefed main sail in the lee of some Brooklyn warehouses and sailed out of the harbor toward Sandy Hook. The wind on a close reach was managable but the sea state became problematic. Maybe it was the changing tide and topography of the harbor, but we spent several hours sailing, then motor sailing through lumpy, choppy seas - the kind condusive to mal de mer (but only for the skipper). We did make good, albeit painful, progress, however, and covered the 50 nm to Manasquan, NJ, arriving just before 3:30 pm. |
Approaching the Whitestone Bridge.
At the Whitestone Bridge.
Hell Gate.
United Nations?
|
||||
|
|||||||
| Wednesday June 21, 2017 |
Atlantic City, NJ Golden Nugget Farley State Marina |
A generally terrible day of sailing. Wind on the nose 10-25 knots and 2-5 foot seas made for slow going taking 11 hours to go 50 nm, but then we add in the downpour and afternoon gust front just to make it hilarious! We arrived disgustedly in Atlantic City to stay at the now civilized Farley State Marina (now $3.00/foot instead of $6.00/foot ten years ago!).
In keeping with the spirit of the journey, we had our third massive downpour in the last six days, and then another downpour while we were at the marina bar. We have seen more rain than the Mekong Delta in this last week and more head winds than Columbus returning to Spain on the 10th parallel. |
Plenty of rain!
Calm after the storm.
|
||||
| Thursday June 22, 2017 |
Cape May, NJ South Jersey Marina |
Today made it to Cape May, a 32 nm jaunt from Atlantic City. The forecast was quite promising with light wind and flat seas and that played out in the extreme. The water was velvet smooth and winds were 5 kt or less so it was a motor boat ride. We didn't even put the main sail up since it was so smooth.
However, there were some challenges. The morning fog hung around until afternoon so the radar and AIS were constantly monitored for traffic. It was one of those days where horizontal visibility would shrink to less than a mile but a bright sun was shining overhead. We put up the boom tent to avoid sun stroke in the fog. Arrived in Cape May harbor around 3:30 pm and checked into the South Jersey Marina (Utsch's Marina was fully booked!) which is a very luxurious spot. They even gave us a ride into town so we could look around before dinner. |
Absecon Inlet.Atlantic City escape. 
Happy Hour torrent!
Boom tent on a motor boat.
Cape May.
|
||||
| Friday June 23, 2017 |
Chesapeake City Schaefer's Canal House |
To depart into the Delaware Bay, we had to wait until midday for low tide in the Cape May Canal so Infrared could get under the two highway bridges. The flip side is, however, at low tide Infrared's 6' 2" keel can reach the bottom in plenty of places and we did, the last time about 3 miles out into the bay.
Once out in the bay, we hoisted sail with a brisk 15-25 kt wind on our port quarter. That might seem a perfect wind for a fast ride up the bay, but that wind was blowing against a foul current so the sea state was very choppy, eratic, and confused for most of the trip and it was hard sailing most of the way just keeping the boat on course and inder control. We ended up with a double reefed main and the 135% head sail pulling us along. Approaching the Salem, NJ nuclear plant the in late afternoon, the current finally turned in our favor and we pulled up to the dock at Schefer's Canal House at 11pm after a 60 nm leg. Once tied up, we were too tied to do anything other than have a drink abd go to bed. |
Cape May Canal bridge, tight fit.
Delaware Bay traffic.
Nuclear power means we are getting close.
|
||||
| Saturday June 24, 2017 |
Baltimore, MD Tidewater Yacht Service |
Departure time from Schaefer's Canal House was delayed until the westward turn of the tide near noon. But with the current behind us, we were able to average 7 kts of boat speed down the upper Chesapeake and arrived home at 6:30 pm.
Even though the front that passed overnight shifted the wind to the west, it was still not easy sailing, but that was consistent with the insistantly uncoorperative weather throughout the whole trip. The amount of easy sailing Infrared experienced was probably less that 2% of the time at sea, the rest often a battle. Nevertheless, the trip was a good one, Our ports of call were all interesting and worthwhile. Infrared performed splendidly living up to the Baltic reputation for seaworthiness and toughness. And who said ocean sailing was supposed to be easy?! |
Chesapeake City in rear view mirror!
|
||||
