Florida to Maine

Ft. Lauderdale to Norfolk, VA (approx. 1100 miles) After 2 weeks of preparations, Mark departs Ft. Lauderdale for Savannah on May 21st. Thank you Amanda, significant other Mark and brother Mark for your hospitality and help with the van. Mark heads offshore, single-handing for the Gulf Stream and Savannah, GA. He had hoped to find a fabricator in Savannah for the aluminum dodger but was unsuccessful. He decided to head north through the Inter Coastal Waterway looking for a fabricator as he went. Along the way he got a good lead on a marina in Norfolk. Repairing a split exhaust hose, replacing the water pump and dodging crab pots kept him from being bored. On May 7th he arrived in Norfolk and immediately began to follow up on the lead. The end result was that 3 weeks later he finally had his aluminum dodger and diesel stove installed. Nancy joined the boat on May 30th.

Chesapeake Bay - We left Norfolk, VA on June 2nd after a 3-week stay to have the aluminum dodger fabricated. Our first night out, as we were preparing to anchor in a shallow river, we went aground (not an uncommon Chesapeake experience) on a raising tide. We dropped the anchor, made dinner and watched as forecast thunderstorms began crossing the skyline to our northwest. When we were afloat again, and just as we were preparing to raise the anchor, the wind instantaneously roared through at 60K with thunder and lightening just to the north. Mark was not too keen on going on deck in a thunderstorm, on a steel boat, to raise the anchor. But by the time we pulled the anchor and got reset in deeper water, the storm had passed as quickly as it arrived. Our next 2 nights were not as dramatic, but very peaceful with blue heron, osprey, and swans feeding as the evening approached.

Chesapeake Bay to Block Is., RI - We transited the Chesapeake Delaware Canal on June 6th and anchored in the Cohansee River, a tributary to the Delaware Bay. The weather looked good for the next 2 days so we decided to head straight across to Block Island, RI, approx. 200 miles. We passed Cape May at 1800 on the 7th and arrived Block Island after 33 hours, at 0330, in a 30K SE wind. Both of us were tired and punchy, but using the spotlight to search for buoys, and relying on our radar and electronic charting system, we made the very narrow entrance into Salt Pond, and anchored by 0400. We spent 2 days on Block Island in windy conditions, relaxing and observing New England sailors come roaring through the entrance, all sails up, quickly heading into the wind and dropping all sails. Only occasionally would someone screw up, and then the real entertainment would begin. It must be a badge of honor to sail full speed into the harbor.

Tiverton, RI and Martha's Vineyard - We pulled up anchor on 6/11 and headed for Tiverton, RI where Nancy was to assist her friend Leslie prepare for her wedding on the 17th. Our anchorage was a great spot, Fogland Point, 10 minutes from Leslie's house, a beach to dinghy to, and parking for the van. Mark stayed until Thursday morning then went on alone to Martha's Vineyard to visit with old Bethel, AK friends he hadn't seen for 15 years. Dorothy, Nancy's mom, had arrived Wednesday evening for the wedding. Nancy spent the next 4 days engrossed in wedding preparations and visiting with old friends. The wedding was beautiful and went off without a hitch. I have to give Leslie a lot of credit for putting the 3-day, multi event together. And she got a lot of help from many great friends. Congratulations Leslie and Al. By Sunday the 18th it was time to get back to the boat, so after many goodbyes and dropping Dorothy off in Providence, RI, Nancy drove to Martha's. Meanwhile, Spencer Snapp, the son of friends in Port Townsend, had arrived in Martha's on Sunday morning and joined us for the next 10 days. His job was to teach us the finer points of sail trim as we headed north. It was great for Nancy to finally meet Bucky and Susan, Mark's friends, after hearing about them all these years.

Martha's Vineyard to Rockland, ME - Departed Martha's on June 20th and spent the next 8 days sailing (and motoring) north, anchoring in Plymouth, MA, Essex River, MA, Rye, NH, Richmond Harbor, ME, Tenants Harbor, ME and Rockland, ME. Highlights included: In our approach to the Essex River, a tricky entrance with moving sandbars, we went aground half way through a falling tide. We tried getting off with the engine and the help of the genoa but were firmly stuck. Several locals motored over to inform us we were in a bad spot - really? One individual was so overly concerned that he called the Coast Guard after telling us we needed to immediately abandon ship. But all conditions were in our favor - sandy bottom, sheltered waters, no seas and a steel boat. Mark's judgment was that we were in no danger and that the incoming tide was all we needed. We did get a visit from the Coast Guard but they assessed the situation and agreed with us that we just needed to wait for the tide. There were a few moments of stress as we lay well over and the water covered port lights (windows). Spencer got off and walked around the boat, in 3 feet of water, reset the anchor and checked the underbody. After a few hours we floated free, got to deeper water and anchored. I called my cousin Peter who lives in Rye, NH, and who I haven't seen in 25 years, to say hello, and he invited us to visit and use his mooring in the harbor. He's a local fisherman. We had a very pleasant day and a half visiting, eating lobster, and having Peter show us the sites of Rye and Portsmouth. We were very much taken with the area. Spencer did his job well in helping improve the rigging and our sailing technique. Unfortunately his stay ended too soon and we needed to get him to Rockland to make a bus connection to Boston (we literally had 5 minutes to spare after motoring through very thick fog, and an unbelievable number of lobster traps). Thank you Spencer. The weather forecast was very favorable so we decided to finish our errands and make the crossing to Nova Scotia from Rockland, leaving at 13:00 on June 29th.