Our major excitement last night was coming in to a dock we anticipated was like a “normal” dock only to find it was more like a dock for a large ferry, no decking floating on the water to jump to and tie up at, it was more like a pier for a commercial boat. Tying up to it in the dark and with the current of the river was challenging for us and entertaining for the stray cat who decided to sit and watch. It was not without some struggle that we managed to attach all 4 lines (stern, bow, and 2 spring lines) and at one time I watched with horror from the dock as the current began it’s inexorable and methodical pull against the stern of Passages while Boyd, Paul and I struggled to handle the lines. As I watched I realized that only Nicole was still aboard. Fortunately Paul jumped aboard and Boyd gave him expert instructions on how to turn the rudder and throw the boat in reverse and my vision of Nicole floating down the Connecticut River, the only Morse on board a 47′ sailboat were quickly dispelled. We were successful after a brief time and managed with Boyd’s expertise in knot tying not to loose the boat to the rivers persuasive pull. Thank goodness, how would I explain that to: my folks, the insurance adjuster, DHS, and the Coast Guard (not necessarily in that order)!

The weather was the only other noteworthy aspect; a mere 8 hours earlier we had been in the protected harbor of Point Judith Pond but as one of the locals pointed out all of the leaves were already gone. Here in the mouth of the Connecticut River the temperature is at least 10 degrees warmer and many of the trees still have their leaves. Last night the temperature never got below a balmy 50, which is nice considering that most mornings I’ve had to bribe the kids out of bed with hot cocoa or tea. Can’t really blame them when you can see your breath from your bunk it’s hard to think of a great reason to get out of the sleeping bag. This morning after a quick breakfast of coco and bagels we went on a mini walk and found Saybrook Fort Park, which turned out to be the sight of the first fort in Connecticut.

Interesting to think that this area was once one of the first settlements and all of the marinas, restaurants and buildings we now see were just marshy riverbanks without signs of human habitation. Somehow coming to the shore by boat makes me nostalgic about what that might have been like hundreds of years ago both for the people on the boats and the natives on the shore. Nicole and I had a little history of the colonies lesson as Paul picked up sticks and stretched his legs and then back to the boat.

Today’s highlights have included more home schooling, a lunch of hot nachos with salsa, sour cream and guacamole and more home schooling. The weather we have now is quite mild, no real wind, no waves and limited visibility but again we have to be grateful, as it could be less accommodating. Coming to a page here soon will be our anticipated low pressure blow (Wednesday) and our experiences going through New York City and a place the charts refer to as “Hell’s Gate”. I’m sure by then I’ll be happy to look back on this log and note it’s rather propensity to the boring and mundane.

Well it just goes to show you. You never can tell… Yesterday when we left Newport it was a gorgeous day, nice sunny overhead, seemingly an easy wind. In fact going out of the harbor proper we ran across a girl’s school doing laser sailboat races. The picture included shows the boat race with the Newport bridge, and just for kicks a large cruise ship that happened to be visiting in port (no the cruise ships not underway, the girls school race isn’t in danger of being run down) in the background. The cruise ship is contentedly anchored waiting for the return of all its ugly little ferryboats.

Anyway back to my story… The weather called for 60 degrees and the sea conditions sounded idyllic. Five to ten knots coming from the south (they had the direction right at least), waves 1-2 ft. Once out of the channel it was clear to see that the weatherman either had a great sense of humor or he’d never been on a boat. The wind was quite brisk going to at least 15 knots; head on, and the waves didn’t seem to have a clue. They were confused if they were coming or going choppy and due to the direction we had to go and the way the wind was blowing we were taking them over the bow at least some of the time. We had planned to get all the way to Old Saybrook but the captain had mercy on us and decided it should be a short day.

We pulled in at Point Judith and anchored for the night in a small, protected cove. We went all the way up into Point Judith Pond, which turned out to be at the end of a very narrow, very shallow albeit well marked channel. With no one in sight we decided to try our hand at anchoring, something we haven’t done on this boat before. Boyd had to completely rebuild the anchor windlass (the thing that winds the anchor onto and off of the boat) this important piece of machinery makes it possible to get hundreds of pounds of chain to perform in the desired way at the desired time, but we hadn’t yet used it. With parts that had to be ordered from New Zealand (months ago) I was really hoping nothing would break. Nothing did. It went like clockwork and since we were well inside a breakwater and far up into the cove there was relatively low wind and no waves.

The only splash of cold water on our wildly successful anchoring event was when we took a “real” sounding (done with a real piece of line with a lead weight tied onto the end) and found that our beautiful anchorage really was only 7 ft deep, keep in mind, we draw 5′.5″. Well that’s what the chart said it was so I’m not sure why we’d be surprised. I was right in the middle of a bonifide rant letting Boyd know that I thought it might be irresponsible to anchor in the middle of a tide (between high and low) when we only had 1.5 ft below the keel. I was worried that we’d be aground before the tide was all the way out and that we might loll to the side and/or damage something. About that time this beautiful sailboat another 10′ -at least- longer than ours came in to the cove and dropped anchor. End of discussion.

Nicole was thrilled to see that the “neighbor” sailboat was a “kids boat” and before the night was out we were having drinks, “Chunky-Monkey” ice cream and lots of great conversation with s/v Sea Schelles owners, who, to our good fortune had two adorable little girls for Nicole to play with. They also generously shared drinks and an evening with us. Turns out this was their first time anchoring their new-to-them boat too so it really was a case that neither of us knew we were depending on the “local” knowledge of people who had none. Oh well, it all turned out fine… I think we may actually have gotten stuck in the mud somewhere in the middle of the night but other than getting mud on the keel I can’t see as it did any harm. We had planned to leave around 10am and therefore to wait for the tide to be back where it was when we cam in, so we’d be sure to have enough water to get out of the cove, we did leave a bit later just due to the delay that the washer caused as we were trying it out.

Oh, back to my story so what’s do you think the weather was for today? Right sunny, 60 degrees, light wind from the South and waves 1-2 ft or less. I guess perhaps it’s all in the nuances because today the weather is just exactly that. It couldn’t be more gorgeous! There are no waves, just enough wind to keep it from being hot under the dodger and flat as a pancake. Considering what I’ve heard about Long Island Sound and the fact that we’re almost into the double digits of November (tomorrow) we have a lot to be grateful for. Hopefully we’ll run into the s/v Sea Schell again soon, for tonight we are headed (again) for Old Saybrook. But today I think there’s a good chance we’ll make it.

We’ve been out of touch for a couple of days due to the spotty nature of the internet service but now seem to have a more stable connection…at least for the moment.  It’s funny how so many places advertise that they have wi fi but the advertisement (in the form of a small icon in the cruising guide) I have found, can mean a number of different things.  It often depends entirely on the direction of the antenna and the wind speed and therefore the swing of the boat whether the fact that the wifi icon appears means anything at all to you as a cruiser paying for the mooring/dock space. In addition just because the icon indicates that there is wifi and you have paid your premium for the privilege of having the services offered doesn’t mean that those services are included with the price of the mooring/dock space. Sometimes all of the other astronomical conditions required do align but in the end you have to pay to log into the wifi.  And so now you know why we have been out of touch.  All these and sometimes more are a factor of whether we get it or not and whether or not you all hear from us.

So…. Since the last installment we have made it from the top of the Cape Cod Canal through the canal and down through Buzzard Bay and all the way down to Newport RI.  The trip was relatively uneventful we had no real wave action (a bonus) fair weather and easy, although long travel days.  Our first night we stayed at the Sandwich Marina which I feel compelled to mention had the worst looking docks I’ve yet to see.  In order to impress on you the foul nature of the surface of the dock Nicole took a photo of one single spot.  This was indeed the condition of the entire surface of the docks.  In addition and to add insult to injury the price was 1.5 times where we had been the night before.  The promise (in the cruisers guide) of showers and water went unfulfilled as the attendant neglected to inform us that they had “turned off the water” for both two weeks earlier until after we had paid for the night.  Well as in cruisers it’s all about location, location, location.   Sandwich is at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal and the perfect jumping off spot to catch your tide down the canal, which is just what we did.

We started out about 30 minutes before slack water and experienced a 1.5 knot resistant current for the first hour after that nothing and then…weee.  We had a plus tidal current adding to our usual 6.5 nm speed At some point we were going close to 8. We made it through in no time going under several bridges, at least one of which you may see here.  In the end we gave the kids the choice to pull into Marion or go all the way to Newport and they chose Newport.  This meant that we came in about 6pm (once again in the dark) but it was truly beautiful with the bridge lit up and the reflection of all of the lights on the water.  We had no trouble picking up a mooring even with the wind and in the dark.

Newport is a town Boyd knows well and we were fortunate to be able to meet up with our Aunt Elsie and Uncle Doug.   We spent most of yesterday running all over Newport trying to find parts and pieces for the boat and today we went into town to do laundry and take shower while Boyd works on the installation of those vital systems on the boat.  Last I heard he’s been wildly successful on the installation of both the washer/dryer and the shower – in addition he’s replaced the fatally wounded aft bilge pocket pump with an “alternate” and is well on his way to getting the AIS system working.   The kids and I have had lunch ashore -always a treat-, done 3 loads of laundry, and finally finished some grocery shopping that we neglected when with Doug and Elsie.

For those whom are unaware which is probably just about everyone this next segment will be writen in the veiw of an 18 year old. If you are unfamiliar with the veiws, thoughts, or opinions of an 18 year old then I bid thee fair sailing. If you are aware of the list of things above than I will you you a few moments to prepare yourselves. Ok times up.

Well here we are again on a transit from one port to another. However i did not realize that I would be leaving from a dock with a copious amount of food showers and some wifi for emailing to a place that has poop splattered decks no wifi and no showers. But the transit was good. Not a single person needed sea sickness medication and we saw 2 huge tankers and the only really awful part was that during the transit some one inadvertantly set off a thing of spray lubricant which smelled up all of everything and gave me chest pains and a headache. But you know over all there was not too much to complain about. I was given a chance to take a year off from school and sail and on this particular day I was not in snow or other freezing conditions.

The next morning we awoke to the pungent smell of seagul poop and. We prepared to leave the dock. When we did leave the dock we made haste up the river like current and found our way under the first bridge. After this first one the current of the channel switched and we started going faster than we have before. If you ask me it was a good change. It was not long before we found ourselves under the last 2 bridges and out of the canal. Once out of the canal I took the helm for the next 4 hours or so and sailed us in 2 straight lines to seeming no end. Once I was done at the helm it seemed as thought we made quick time to the harbor and before we knew it we were on a mooring and back into the warmth of our half done living space below. DON’T even get me started on the lighting debacle!!!!!!

Well it’s the first night on the boat- ever (at least for the kids and I). The myriad of things that have transpired that have prevented or at least delayed us thus far from making our departure are, at least for now, behind us. There have been delays too numerous to list and lists too lengthy to complete then, suddenly, 1 year, two months and 1 week after finding and rescuing our boat we are officially cruising. Well – not yet – we haven’t left the mooring, that’s for tomorrow but it’s coming. And soon.

It’s really somewhat unbelievable even after all this time, perhaps especially after all this time to realize it’s not just a story and it’s more than just some interesting sound bite I hear myself telling another store clerk, or bank teller or perhaps disinterested neighbor. This is it, we are leaving. The kids are both coming; they’re on board now. Boyd’s gone on sabbatical, even though the litany of endless “must do” items is still pages long we are making the break into the cruising lifestyle.

Is it the right choice? Will the kids hate us for it? Will our finances forever bear the ungainly Mar of a retirement fund spent in its tender youth? Will my husband and I become the solid cohesive unit of our dreams or will there be a boat for sale before we hit the Gulf Stream?

I suppose these and many additional questioning minds hope to find out will play out in the following days and pages, but for tonight, sitting here by the warm fire, listening to the ocean lap at the hull it seems a good start. We’ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.