August 24
Today will be a slightly unusual day for us. Normally when we are traveling on a day, we leave in the morning. Today though, we are only going seventeen miles, and there is no reason to get there early. So, we enjoy our full twenty-four free hours on the town mooring. About 11:30, we dropped the mooring and headed into town to the town dock, where you can dock the big boat for two hours free. We pulled up to the dock at 11:45 and tied up. I could get used to this free thing.
We were going to walk from here to Poplar Av, where my sister's house was, but quickly realized it was too far to walk in the allotted time we had at the free dock. So, instead we went to the Waterfront Grill, which we had been told had great sandwiches. We were not disappointed. My roast beef sandwich had at least an inch and a half of meat on it.
After lunch, we went to Ryan's Market, right across the street from the dock. Ryan's is a small grocery that has not changed much over the years. They had a great meat counter, where you could actually get the butcher to custom cut something for you. Everything has a price sticker on it, because there are no scanners at the checkout. The checkout doesn't even have a moving belt to bring the goods to the checker. If you have loaded up the stainless steel counter and the checker can't reach something, they have a three sided wooden edge that they pull toward them and it slides everything within reach. The dichotomy was that they did have a computer at the checkout, instead of a plain cash register. But, the checker was keying in every amount and hitting the key for dairy, meat, produce, etc.
The only disappointment in the store was a frozen problem. Yesterday when we passed through the store, I noticed that most of their freezer was empty and turned off. Only one case was on, and it had just ice cream and other frozen deserts in it. I noticed two new Ben & Jerry's flavors that sounded good. Since we were dinghying to the boat yesterday, we waited until today for the ice cream purchase. Well, today, they had emptied the last freezer and had it all shut off. It looked like they were going to replace the whole unit. But that meant I couldn't get my ice cream. Just reinforces the wise advice that when you see something you want, buy it. It may not be there when you come back later.
We loaded up the groceries, and unloaded two bags of garbage and a couple of boxes of empty beer bottles in the dumpster in the parking lot. I'm not sure the dumpster is intended for boaters, but nobody yelled at me. We left the town dock and headed a few hundred feet down the channel to Brewer's Marina and fuel dock. We don't have to get fuel yet, but we noticed their price is just $3.00/gallon. Who thought we'd be happy about just $3/gallon? We filled up the fuel and our water tanks.
It was 14:15 when we were underway for today's destination. We are headed for the Harbor of Refuge at Pt. Judith, RI. Pt. Judith is the southwestern tip of Narragansett Bay. There is a good anchorage there protected by a large breakwater. The trip there was uneventful. We went south in the West Passage and under the Jamestown bridge which runs from North Kingstown to Jamestown, and then from Jamestown to Newport. The part of the bridge over the West Passage has been recently replaced. The car traffic is on the new bridge, and they are in the process of tearing down the old bridge. Most of it is gone, but the huge concrete pilings are still there. They are blowing them up one by one, which results in temporary closings of the waterway. Yesterday as we went into Wickford, north of the bridge, they announced a closure, and then we heard and saw the explosion as they blew up some of it. Today there was no exploding, and we passed with no delay.
It took about two and a half hours to round Pt. Judith and enter the Harbor of Refuge. The name comes from the fact that there is a large v-shaped breakwater facing south to stop the swell from the ocean from entering the main harbor. This makes for a nice anchorage inside the breakwater. We dropped the hook along with seven other sailboats. There is easily room here for a hundred boats, although you have to be careful you don't snag a lobster trap with your anchor line.
The temperature today has only been in the low 70's, so Barb made chili for dinner. The past few weeks have been incredibly cool and comfortable for us. We have never needed air conditioning, and most nights have slept under the covers to be warm.
GPS N 41-21.598 W 071-30.580 Nautical miles traveled today 17. Total miles 6092.
August 25
The name Harbor of Refuge proved to be a misnomer. I suppose if a gale was raging and there were ten foot waves out in the Sound, it might be more comfortable inside the breakwater. But, on your average day, it's pretty darn rolly. The swell from the open water still makes it's way inside the breakwater, as well as there is a tremendous amount of boat traffic going in and out of the main harbor. These boats include the large ferries to Block Island and Long Island, and they make large wakes, even inside the breakwater. Those wakes bounce around inside the walls of the breakwater making for constant movement of the boat. Add to that the fact that the wind blew pretty hard most of the night, and I didn't get much sleep. We haven't anchored in a month, so with the wind I was mindful of us dragging. As usual, there was no problem, but I only slept well for a couple of hours just before dawn, when the wind died down, and before the ferry traffic started for the day.
As soon as we were up and had coffee, we were ready to go. We had planned to meet our friends Jack & Carol on Reach at either Watch Hill, RI, or Fisher's Island, NY, but the forecast is for crummy weather all weekend. So instead, we are just going to go to Spicer's Marina in Noank again, and visit with them and attack my list of things to fix. (There's always a list.)
The timing was perfect with the currents, and we made good time for the twenty-four miles to Noank. We negotiated the Watch Hill Passage into Fisher's Island Sound with good speed and no problem. The water here is weird because of the currents and the passages through a reef. There are a couple of large areas where the water looks like a washing machine. The waves aren't particularly big, just churning. Then there is a line where the water becomes smooth again. It's like night and day.
As we approached the marina I called them to see what slip we would be in. Jack had already told them we were coming. They assigned us a slip on H dock, where we had been before, but it was a different slip. I hoped it would be the only empty one, so I didn't really have to figure out the numbers, but when we got there, there were three empty slips in the same vicinity. The numbers on the docks are on the top edge, so if you are looking for a slip number from the dock, it's easy to see, but if you're looking from the water, you can't see the numbers. We pulled back out of the fairway and called the office again. They told me it was the fourth from the end, so now we knew where we were going. I wanted to back in so we can have the dinghy overhang the dock and I can fix it's leak. I backed in the fairway again and turned into the slip ok, but the slip next to us is empty too, so when the wind blew us off the dock, there was no other boat to push back on. The result was we got in but were across the two slips at a forty-five degree angle. Fortunately, the marina launch driver came to take our lines about that time. We threw him the lines and he muscled us over into the slip we were assigned. If I knew he was coming, I would have waited until he was there to take lines in the first place, and it would have been prettier. But, no damage except to the Captain's pride in how well he can back up.
The forecast rain started just as we were making the lines secure and hooking up the power. We ended up waiting on the boat before going to shower or check in. After an hour we gave up on the rain stopping and went to shower. We ran into Jack on the dock and agreed to meet when he got off work at 16:00. After showers, we relaxed aboard while it continued to rain. Just after 16:00, the rain stopped, and Jack showed up. We enjoyed a couple of beers until Carol got there, and then we went to their boat and grilled steaks we brought for dinner.
After dinner, we went up to the Seahorse, the bar at the marina entrance. It was karaoke night. Since my karaoke debut in the islands there was no keeping me off the stage. The rum may have influenced my decision too. I ended up singing three songs. We didn't get back to the boat until after 01:00, and I may have been over-served.
GPS N 41-19.220 W 071-59.644 Nautical miles traveled today 24. Total miles 6116.
August 26
We awoke to cool, overcast, and windy, but no rain. We also awoke pretty late since we had a late night. But it was good weather for sleeping in anyway. After coffee, I walked down to the office to officially check in, since I never did it yesterday in the rain. Since we're not sure how many days we are going to stay, we just agreed that I'd settle up with them when we leave. Jack & Carol took us for a ride to show us Groton and New London. We went to Fort Trumbell in New London and walked around the outside, where you have a great view of the Thames River. While we were overlooking the river a submarine came in from sea headed for the sub base just north of where we were. We have heard several of them on the radio around here, and we have seen them in dock in Norfolk, but this was the first one we saw underway.
We drove around some more and then stopped for lunch. After lunch we all decided that naps might be in order, so we came back to the marina. I never did take a nap, but we relaxed for a while until about 16:00 when some other friends of Jack & Carol's came to visit. We congregated on Reach and had snacks and beer. I'm staying away from the rum today. About 19:00, dinner plans were being discussed, and we were full with the big lunch we had and the snacks, so we went back to the boat. I turned in quite early by my standards and got a long night's sleep.
GPS N 41-19.220 W 071-59.644 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 6116.
August 27
We awoke to overcast and cool again today. The rain didn't start until about 10:00 and continued all day. After showers and coffee, Jack & Carol took Barb to a laundromat while I attacked my list of things to fix. We have not done laundry since we were here almost a month ago, so instead of using the marina's one washer and one dryer all day, Barb went to a laundromat where she could do five loads in the time of one.
My first thing to attack was the shower in the aft head. This is the one we use when we shower aboard. It has two problems. One is the hose from the water supply to the hand-held shower head. This hose had leaked before where it attaches to the water supply line. In St. Augustine I was unable to find one just like it, so I did a Mickey-mouse fix that I wasn't sure would last, and it hasn't. The result is water leaking into the engine compartment and almost no pressure at the shower. My fix for it this time was to swipe the hose just like it from the forward head. We have the forward head full of stuff, and never use it. I hopefully will eventually find a proper replacement hose and replace it. Or not. The second aft shower problem was getting the water out. There is a pump that pumps the water out, and it has seemed to be getting tired over the last couple of months. It works, but takes forever to get it all out. I had already disconnected the hoses at the pump and used the garden hose to run water through them to see if they were clogged. They seemed not to be, so I assumed the diaphragm in the pump might be leaking. So, I stole the pump out of the forward head and put in place of the aft one. I ran water in the shower and was pleased to have no leak in the hose and good pressure at the shower head. But, the pump still took forever to empty the shower. This brought me back to a restriction in the hose. Of course there is no way to access the hose on the drain end, so I was worried about how I would clear any obstruction. I was looking in the engine compartment trying to see if I could even see the drain end of the hose, when I noticed a raw water strainer between the drain and the pump. I had never even noticed this strainer before as it is against the back wall of the engine compartment out of the way. I pulled the strainer apart, and sure enough, it was chock full of hair. I cleaned the screen and replaced it and of course now the water pumps out just fine. Boy did I feel stupid. I wasn't sure whether I should be happy that the problem was fixed so easily, or pissed that I had never even known this strainer was there. I went ahead and reinstalled the original pump in the forward head and scratched two things off the list.
Barb got back with the laundry about 13:00, and we went to the Seahorse for lunch. Jack & Carol joined us for a beer and then they went home to their condo. We went back to the boat and cleaned up the mess from tearing apart both heads. I decided not to tackle any more projects today, so we watched a couple of movies while the rain continued into the evening.
GPS N 41-19.220 W 071-59.644 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 6116.
August 28
Today dawned overcast, cool, and rainy again. This will limit me to an indoor project, so I tackled resolving the problem with the speed indicator. The readout of the boat speed started acting wacky a few months ago. It started reading about half the real speed, and then for the last couple of weeks it has simply read zero. You should understand that I can tell exactly how fast we are moving over the ground by the GPS. This works fine. But, there is a low-tech speedometer on boats that utilizes a paddlewheel under the hull and it tells you your speed through the water. This is useful to determine if you are in a significant current. If the GPS says you are going four knots, but the speedometer says you are going seven, then you know you are fighting a strong current. More importantly, the wind indicator uses the speed from the speedometer to figure the true wind speed when the boat is moving. If you are moving directly into the wind at six knots, and the wind is blowing four knots, then the apparent wind is ten knots. But, to figure the true wind speed, the wind instrument knows the direction you are traveling and the speed, so it does the math for you and displays the true speed. Well, this is what has been bugging me the most. I never know the true wind speed without trying to do the math in my head. And unless the wind is directly in front or directly behind the boat, it isn't simple math.
The most common reason for the speed log not to work is that something grows on the paddlewheel so it can't spin right. I had checked this a number of times, and it was free spinning, so the problem is electronic not mechanical. Jack had procured me a new paddlewheel/transducer since this was the more likely point of failure. I wanted to be sure that was the problem before simply swapping parts though, so I tried to do some tests. I had an e-mail chat with the Raymarine Tech Support guys to see how to use a test meter to test the old unit and prove it was bad. They gave me a test to do, which the old unit failed, but unfortunately, the new transducer failed their test too. So I resorted to a low-tech test and swapped the wires so the new transducer was hooked to the display. (Of course it's not quite that simple, but that's the short story.) Spinning the paddlewheel on the new transducer resulted in numbers on the display, so I was convinced that the transducer was the problem. I started pulling up the floorboards in the main saloon to replace the transducer, and found that the wire from the old one did not go to the junction block under the helm in one uninterrupted piece. This transducer had been replaced several years ago by the alleged professionals at Seabrook Shipyard in Seabrook, TX. Instead of pulling the wire from the new transducer all the way to the helm, they had spliced it to the old wire just out of sight of the transducer. Before I proceeded to replace the transducer, I cut apart the shrink wrap on this splice and found the real problem. The splice in the wire that transmits the voltage for the speed indication was not properly insulated from the ground wire. I moved these wires apart and spun the old paddlewheel and guess what? It worked fine. So, I reinsulated the splice and replaced the floor. Again, I don't know whether to be happy or pissed. I don't need the new part after all and can return it, but I spent several hours to find a simple problem, this time caused because in the past I hired a so-called professional to do a job that I would have done better if I had done it myself.
The rain continued all day, so we stayed in. At dinner time we decided to order a pizza delivery instead of going out. Jack had told me that Mystic Pizza delivers to the marina, so we called them. They said they did not deliver here. Bummer. So, we got online and found the nearest Pizza Hut. I called them and gave them the address, and they said they didn't deliver that far. It was a whole three miles from their store to here. Next I tried Dominoes. They said they did deliver here so we placed an order. They never asked for a name or phone number, but I gave them the slip number and they said it would be here in forty-five minutes. After I hung up Barb said she didn't think they would show up. Thirty minutes later we had pizza.
GPS N 41-19.220 W 071-59.644 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 6116.
August 29
More clouds, more cool, and by noon, more rain. The weather man promises this is going to clear out tomorrow. Today I am going to attack a problem that I have been avoiding for months. It appears that the vent line from our waste holding tank is clogged. What that means is that long before the tank is really full, it starts to bulge because of the trapped air inside, and because of the excess pressure, odor escapes from the inspection cap even though it is tightly closed. The reason I have put this off is that there is no good way to clear the line. I assume that at some point the tank got full and liquid got in the line, causing salts to build up and plug it. The clamshell on the outside of the hull has corroded over the years, but can't be replaced because there is no access to the backside of it. Another one of those things that can't ever be reached without cutting interior fiberglass. I'd like to have a few words with the engineer who designed some of these things. Jack loaned me a portable air tank with a tapered fitting on the end of the hose to use in an attempt to blow the restriction out of the line. First I pried a little at the clamshell on the outside, and it broke off in several pieces with almost no resistance. I kind of expected this. I tried to blow air in the hole hoping to blow the restriction into the tank, but couldn't get a good seal on the rough remains of the fitting. So, I went inside and disconnected the vent hose from the tank. At this point Barb set up a fan to blow the odor out the companionway. It wasn't as bad as I expected, but it was still noticeable. Before blowing, I took a straightened out wire coat hanger and ran it up in the hose as far as I could. I expected the clog to be near this end, but met no resistance up to the point where the hose makes a sharp turn. I then tried blowing from the inside. The clog was so tight that I could feel the hose expand a little as I pressurized it. But the restriction didn't budge. Next we moved to the chemical solution. Was going to use a syringe to squirt some acid in the hose from the outside in the hopes it would dissolve the clog. What I found though was that I couldn't get the tiny tip of the syringe in the outside hole at all. Leaning over the side in a very precarious position, I could see that the metal of the original clamshell nipple had bubbled up as it had corroded over the years and totally blocked the opening. I took a Phillips screwdriver and punched through the corrosion. We then blew air from the inside and it blew right through. Now what to do about the fact that the original clamshell isn't there and can't be properly replaced with no access to the backside? I explained what I had to Jack, and he had the perfect solution. The store here at the marina has little clamshell covers that screw to the hull. I sealed around the edges of the old fitting and then screwed the new cover over the hole. Now it shouldn't take on any water and it looks good. Another problem solved cheaply and easier than expected.
Next I took apart the engine control panel at the helm to replace the warning buzzer that is flaky. The buzzer is there to alert you of low oil pressure or high water temperature. It comes on steady if you are overheating, and it beeps intermittently if the oil pressure is low. Problem is, it only works sometimes. I know this because any time you turn the key on without starting the motor, the oil pressure alarm should sound. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. There are also idiot lights, but those lights are small LED's which are quite visible at night, but would not be noticed during the day. There is a water temp gauge, but no oil pressure gauge, so I want the audible alarm to be reliable. Back in St. Augustine I took the old alarm out and got a manufacturer and part number off it. I did some Internet searching and found a distributor from whom I ordered one and had it shipped to Chicago. We picked it up when we visited there in July, so it's about time I installed it. I got the old one out of the panel and disconnected the seven wires from the three connectors. I know that any time I do something like this, I should take a picture or at least write down which color wire goes on which connector, but I figured I could remember for a couple of minutes. So, off came the old wires, the new alarm went in the panel, and I hooked up the wires. I turned on the key and the buzzer sounded steady and the high water temp light lit. Wrong. So I swapped some wires and tried again. Now the alarm beeped intermittently (correct) and the high water temp light was on (wrong). Third try is the charm. I put the panel back together and scratched one more thing off my list.
The next thing is to install an oil pressure gauge. When we were in Norfolk and got a bunch of spare engine parts from the Westerbeke distributor there, I had also gotten a sending unit and oil pressure gauge. Time to install it too. (I like letting my parts age a little before installing them. Gives them more character.) I would like to have put it on the panel at the helm with all the other engine gauges, but there isn't room. So, it will go inside the boat on the side of the engine compartment where it is visible from the main saloon. The installation went remarkably well. The engine was already setup for the sending unit. I just had to remove a plug and screw it in. Then I drilled the hole to mount the gauge and put it in the right place the first time. Then I ran three short wires to hook it up and it worked! The engine has great oil pressure, the backlighting on the gauge works, and nothing leaks. The only bump in the installation was that I had to walk up to the store because I was out of the right kind of wire connectors.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and playing computer games. The rain was still falling at dinner time, but we braved it and walked up to the Seahorse for a nice dinner. For a local tavern, they really do have pretty darn good food. By the end of dinner, the rain had stopped. Back at the boat I checked the weather radar, and it may be over. Tomorrow's forecast is for clear skies. We'll see. We actually have turned the heat on in the boat this evening, and more importantly, we just opened the last bottle of rum we smuggled back from the Bahamas. Time to head for the Islands!
GPS N 41-19.220 W 071-59.644 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 6116.
August 30
The day dawned overcast and still cool, but no rain. We have two tasks left on the fix-it list, and they both include going up the mast. It is almost dead calm, so after coffee we get busy. Going up the mast safely requires more preparation than the work itself. First, we have to unfurl the foresail and then drop it to the deck. This lets us use that halyard as well as the spare halyard for the climb. We then use one halyard to raise the Mast Mate ladder. Once the ladder is in place, we hook the second halyard to the bosun's chair. I then climb the ladder, while Barb takes the slack out of the second halyard for safety. I got to the top to accomplish task number one. In St. Augustine, I was up the mast to replace our anchor light. That went well and I was all proud of myself until a few days later when I realized I had put the masthead plate on backwards which meant the Windex, which is a non-electronic wind indicator, was pointing forward instead of aft and could not rotate without hitting the VHF antenna. All it took to remedy this was remove two bolts, turn the whole assembly around and bolt it down again. I was done so fast that I forgot to enjoy the view from sixty feet in the air. To come down, instead of stepping down the ladder, it's easier to sit in the chair and have Barb lower me. It is amazingly effortless to control the weight of a fat boy like me when the line is wrapped around a winch. I stopped midway down to accomplish the second task, that being to replace the bulb in the steaming light. We noticed a week or so ago that it was out. That accomplished, down I came.
The hardest part of all this is re-hoisting the foresail. Even though I have sprayed dry-lube on the edge of the sail where it feeds in the furling tube, it takes all I can do to winch it back up. But, I did it and we packed up all the stuff we had to unpack to get the Mast Mate and bosun's chair out. This officially completes all the things on the to-fix list. Now that we had done the hard work, and gotten all sweaty even though it is cool out, we went to shower.
We went up to the Seahorse for lunch and then walked into "downtown" Noank to buy a few things at the store. On the way back we stopped at the marina office and paid our bill. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing. I actually took a nap, which I almost never do.
Since this is our last night in town, and the weather is still quite cool, we are going over to Jack & Carol's condo for dinner. Carol picked us up about 17:00 and took us there. We chatted and enjoyed a great dinner of steak and lobster. The boaters in the readership will enjoy the fact that Jack has mounted a propane Magma boat grill on the rail of their balcony at their condo. We can't thank Jack & Carol enough for their hospitality, help with parts, fix-it advice, and general friendship. A little after 21:00, Jack took us back to the marina.
GPS N 41-19.220 W 071-59.644 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 6116.
August 31
We awoke to something unusual this morning. Sun! Well, truth be told, there was still a light high overcast, but it was the first time I used my sunglasses in several days. We are leaving Spicer's today, heading for Sag Harbor, NY on the eastern end of Long Island. Since getting from here to there requires crossing Long Island Sound at it's eastern end where it joins the Atlantic Ocean, currents are a consideration. To time the currents right, we don't want to leave the marina until about 10:00.
We had coffee and showered and started preparing to go. We found Jack working on a boat on the next dock and stopped to say goodbye again. At 10:00 we shoved off. We joked with Jack that if we didn't sail today we were wimps, because in the marina, the breeze appeared to be a fair speed and from a good direction. But, once we were away from the land, the wind was only about four or five knots. If we had all day, we could have enjoyed a slow sail across the sound. But, we have a complication. Tropical Storm Ernesto is moving north. We would really like to be in a marina, or at least on a mooring, as opposed to being anchored. Ironically, Sag Harbor has a good anchorage, but with the forecast thirty knot winds, I'd prefer a mooring. We had called both marinas that could accommodate us and they were full. We called the mooring operator and he said he expected we could get one and to call back when we were close.
The trip across the Sound was not too bad. The breeze was light, so we motorsailed, and the seas were a little confused, but not bad. The cat did not get sick, so I guess that's the real test. We crossed The Race, where big ships come and go from the Atlantic, and had to slow to pass astern of one entering from the ocean. Once inside Gardiner's Bay, the seas calmed considerably and the wind died entirely. We furled the sail and motored on. When we were about forty-five minutes from Sag Harbor, I called the mooring guy again to make sure he had one available. He said to come on and call him again when we got there.
As we got to the harbor and approached the breakwater I called again. The launch said he would be right out and guide us to our mooring. After we tied up, he came alongside for us to pay him. He said this was the last mooring he had and that he had turned away other people since he had promised it to us. I was wearing a Jimmy Buffett t-shirt, and the launch driver asked if we were Buffett fans. We said we were, and he gave us the lowdown on Jimmy's local stuff. (For non-Buffett fans, Jimmy lives in this area in the summer, and Palm Beach, FL in the winter.) Ken the launch guy told us that Jimmy's two fishing boats and sailboat were in the marina, as well as Billy Joel's boat Alexa.
All secure, we launched the dinghy. We went to shore and found a place to eat. The first place off the dock was overlooking the marina where Jimmy's boats are, but they had prices to match the view. So, we went inland one block and found a nice pub for a late lunch. After lunch, we walked the main street (appropriately named Main St.) and found the local grocery. We went in for a few things and found it to be a nice well stocked store. We went back to the dinghy and back to the boat with our goodies.
After stowing the groceries and making some beverages, we went for a dinghy ride. We can't get into the marina where Jimmy's boats are by land, because there is a gate, but we should be able to go by water. As we approached the marina, we saw a trawler named Wanderer. This boat tried to pull us off the first time we ran aground in the Bahamas last November. The owners were on deck, so we pulled up and re-introduced ourselves. They have been here all summer and are preparing to go south again. After chatting a few minutes, we dinghied by Jimmy's sport fish and sailboats, both with teal hulls. His big fishing boat, Margaritavich, must be kept in Florida.
We made it back to the boat before dark, and enjoyed some adult beverages and ice cream. It is dead calm tonight. Perhaps the calm before the storm?
GPS N 41-00.443 W 072-17.867 Nautical miles traveled today 24. Total miles 6140.