Home again, home again! Giggity gig!

Home again, home again! Giggity gig!

Tuesday, June 21, 2021

Overall Reflections

(Mike) We won’t move back into our house in Sudbury until the 1st of August but we are back in our homeport of East Greenwich and that effectively marks the end of this particular adventure. It didn’t work out the way we initially envisaged, but we had a good time nonetheless. Our desire to travel to multiple countries in the Caribbean just became too daunting with the Covid Pandemic. In 2017-8 we visited twelve different countries and found that under normal conditions you have to clear in and out of immigration, customs and port authority at almost every island. However, during the Covid pandemic the prospect of different sets of rules, restrictions and testing for each country, with the real possibility that it could all change at a moments notice, was too much for us to contemplate. We heard a few stories of boaters having good experiences travelling abroad during the pandemic, but also many stories of cruisers trapped on their boats unable to go ashore or denied access and asked to leave the country regardless of impending bad weather.  Overall, it still feels like the right decision that we chose to stay in the USA and we do appreciate that our experience of living through the pandemic was so much easier than for the vast majority of people. We still had a lot of fun, travelled about 4000 nautical miles and experienced some real adventures, but the sense of accomplishment seems somewhat lacking compared to our previous trips.

(Gloria) Overall, I would have to say that it was a different trip from previous years.  Avoiding eating in restaurants made some difference.  Keeping our distance from other boaters made a big difference.  Even a true introvert, such as myself, does find that meeting new people and sharing tales of boating experiences is part of the fun.  We feel delighted that we managed to avoid getting Covid-19.  Initially, we believed that we would have to return to Massachusetts to get the vaccine, so we were thrilled to be able to get vaccinated in Florida. We have Tasha to thank for pushing us to explore that option and as it turned out we found the system in Florida to be very well organized and helpful.

What we liked best 

(Gloria) We really enjoyed visiting Cumberland Island.  An undeveloped portion of the coastline is a pretty rare thing and a real gem. Key West, by contrast is well developed, but we had a wonderful time there. It was a great idea to make an advanced booking for a slip at the town marina for the month of February. It was an excellent location at a very good rate. I do think that we sought out the quieter places there—the state park, the botanical garden, the beaches and even the cemetery.  But it was fun to walk around looking at the houses and the gorgeous gardens.  The Butterfly garden was so special we had to go twice! One of the impacts of the pandemic was the absence of cruise ships in Key West, greatly reducing the number of people in town and enhancing the experience. In an effort to stay positive (not my natural inclination), I will just say that Miami was a real low point.

(Mike) Meeting up with family and friends is always one of the most enjoyable aspects of cruising and this seemed all the more precious because of the challenges of Covid isolation. It was terrific that some of our family and friends were able to join us for sections of our journey and that we were able to catch up with others along the way. We went to so many beautiful places, some of which we had been to before and were keen to revisit, but others that were completely new to us. Perhaps the single most exciting place we visited was the Dry Tortugas, a target destination for many years. What a wild and wonderful place this is. On the way south we skipped Georgia altogether and spent more time in South Carolina, which was fun. On the way back we reversed that and spent a couple of weeks in Georgia that I really enjoyed. I thought Cumberland Island, St Catherine’s Island and Daufuskie Island were the highlights here. I agree with Gloria’s comments about Key West. That was a very relaxing and enjoyable part of our trip, with Tasha and MacKenzie’s visit being the best part. The offshore passages are often memorable, but not always in a good way! I personally thought the passage off the coast of South Carolina when we saw the SpaceX rocket was exceptional, never to be forgotten. To build on Gloria’s comments about Miami I would say it has a great skyline, but in all our years of sailing we have never been anywhere we felt less welcome. It was really difficult to find any way to get ashore for more than half an hour. 

Things that went well   (Gloria and Mike) 

*Docking maneuvers mostly went pretty smoothly (Although we can’t say we ever feel calm as we approach a dock). We did end up donating our gas grill to the seabed in Key West harbor during a docking snafu that we may not have mentioned previously! We messed up the reversing into the slip and decided to pull forward for another go, but struggled to free one of the lines we had managed to attach to a piling and got blown towards the neighboring boat. Our gas grill, mounted in a fishing rod holder near the stern, clipped the bow roller of the powerboat and flipped out into the harbor and sank! 

*With a few exceptions discussed below, we had very few issues with the boat. Fuel flow to the engine was only a problem on one occasion when we were crossing the shipping lanes coming into Norfolk. Overall, we feel we have gotten on top of the fuel contamination issues that caused us so much grief on our previous trip.  Let’s hope having written that is not a jinx. 

*Water, propane, and provisioning seemed to work out really well, perhaps because we stayed in the US.

Things that might have gone better (Gloria and Mike)

*The functioning of the heads and the holding tank monitor! (We’ve already said WAY too much about that.) 

*The dinghy! (Another topic that has been extensively covered.) At least the Dumb Dog lasted the trip, although we might be shopping for a replacement next year. 

*We still have some concerns about the “haloing” (loss of anti-fouling paint) near metal fittings on the hull, although we hope this was a one-off problem caused by electrical problems on a dock. We also have some anti-fouling blistering that we will need to resolve over the winter.

*We had two uncomfortable passages – the sail south from York, Maine to Gloucester, MA was one of the roughest we have encountered. We are still trying to understand how the conditions we experienced matched up to those that were predicted when we have been out in weather that was forecast to be almost as fierce and turned out to be relatively benign. We also had a difficult passage from New York to the Delaware River on the way south when the winds turned against us a little earlier than anticipated and we ended up with a long and unpleasant motor sail into the wind and waves.

*Fishing! We are the worst fishermen in the world. This was very disappointing!

Future Plans

For the next few days we will stay on Cotinga in East Greenwich, then on the first of July we fly out to visit Tasha in Wyoming for three weeks. Shortly after we return we will be moving back into our house in Sudbury. 

(Mike) I consider myself retired now, so I am not going to be looking for full time work, but I might be interested in some part time teaching if that were available. It takes some time to get adjusted to living on the boat and similarly I think it will take some time to re-adjust to being back home. I hope to try and get fit again for climbing and squash and I’m contemplating taking up road biking a bit more seriously so that I might be able to join my friends in the UK who are very keen cyclists. I also have ambitions to do some hydroponic gardening! We don’t envisage making any long sailing trips next year, but after that who knows! I like the idea of sailing north up to Nova Scotia and haven’t ruled out the possibility of going back to the Bahamas and the Caribbean. As for taking Cotinga to Europe … I’m not so sure that’s ever going to happen. For me, the offshore passages are a means to an end rather than a delight in themselves. But, never say never …

(Gloria) I would echo Mike’s sentiments about needing to get back to some level of fitness.  Hopefully, I will be getting back to swimming either in town or at another location.  As a result of sewing projects undertaken on the boat, I have “finishing” to do on a few items.  That should re-introduce me to the sewing room—once we manage to move everything back into its normal place.  I’d like to get back to some gardening, it’s a bit late to get started in August, so that might have to wait for spring of 2022!

So at this point we will finish our blog, at least for now, until we set out on our next sailing adventure. Writing the blog can take some effort but we are well aware that we are the ones who get most benefit from it and we enjoy going back and revisiting our past adventures. Thanks for reading and for posting your comments, thanks to our guest bloggers and most of all, thanks for all of your support. Be safe, have fun!

“Cotinga Out”

41 39.393 N, 71 26.684 W

One of the things that I will be doing in the coming weeks is reviewing the many photos that I’ve taken. Whilst I have tried to post the best of each day as they were taken there are always some shots that didn’t jump out at the time but are still worth looking at. Hopefully some gems that were missed! Similarly, some photos would benefit from more careful work-up. Here are a few of shots from earlier in our trip that you haven’t seen.

The "Dumb Dog" on a foggy evening in Maine

Ripples on the water in the Sassafras river on our way south

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Sunset in the Sassafras river on our way south

The anchorage off Fishers Island near Miami

The Miami skyline from the Fishers Island anchorage

A rare (priceless!) self portrait from the bathrooms at Boot Key, Marathon ... honestly I was looking for a mirror!

Finding Moments of Joy

Finding Moments of Joy

Saturday 19th June 2021

Today started with a few concerns about the possibility of uncomfortable swells (forecast to be 4-6 feet) and winds (10-15 knots gusting to 25 knots) as we were going into open seas en route to East Greenwich, Mike and Gloria’s home port.  The sound of strong wind blowing while we were moored did not make it any easier.   All three of us took a “Stugeron” to prevent seasickness and I later discovered that Mike had brought out the throw-up bag, just in case.  We delayed our departure by an hour, and it ended being fortuitous as Gloria heard the cry “Andiamo”, and the Aldo Pastry Boat was outside!  Can you believe our luck!!   Mike hailed them and they came over with an assortment of pastries.   Sadly, they did not want to sing for us, which was a bit disappointing after I heard the history of the pastry boat.  Nonetheless, we chose a few and Mike treated; they were a bit pricey, presumably due to the delivery fee.  After breakfast, we set off.  We took the added precaution of attaching a safety line to our life vests (which Mike and Gloria typically do when they are offshore on their own).  I have complete faith in Mike and Gloria’s sailing knowledge, so I was not worried.

After leaving the protected harbor, there were swells making the ride a bit more choppy than normal. One could see the white tops on some of the waves.   Nonetheless, we were able to sail most of the way as we had wind and current in our favor.  The sail was so much calmer than we anticipated, and after we entered the Narragansett Bay, it was very calm and relaxing.  Shortly after arriving at the mooring, we were joined by Gloria’s family, Paul and Fran, and Rod and Sue.   I never laughed so much as they told sailing stories and talked about races that went awry.  They really are blessed to get along so well and actually enjoy each other’s company as many families do not. While they were visiting we had heavy rain and thunder and lightening and we were glad to be safely on the mooring.

So overall, this was without question one of the best experiences of my life.  The past year of the pandemic was not easy and I found it helpful to find moments of joy every day to help me get through it.   I have to say that the past ten days were filled with countless moments of joy.  As you may have gathered, I had gone sailing only a few times on short sails, nothing like this.  I am a complete novice.  I did not know if I would get sea sick, but I knew there were a few ferries from Long Island in case I had to bail (and obviously I did not).   I was worried about riding the dinghy and I have to say that I am so much more comfortable riding it, but not in bumpy harbors.  Mike and Gloria were very patient, teaching me about currents, the wind and that if neither are in your favor, you have to motor sail.  They explained the charts to me, and that white means the water is deep, blue is shallow, and how to determine the distance in nautical miles.   They explained how to read the wind speed and depth on the navigational instruments.  They are wonderful teachers, very patient despite my numerous questions.  Hopefully, I did not drive them crazy with all of my questions.

And of course the sailing was spectacular!   Better than expected, exceeds expectations, five stars! When I first got on board, I was too uncomfortable to stand while the boat was moving.  When it started tipping (heeling) I preferred the high side of the boat.   I slowly moved from the lower bench to the upper bench in order to have a better view.   I even was comfortable enough being on the low side when it did not tip too much.  And the views were amazing.  I finally was the person on the sail boat that I previously took photos of from the land!

And of course, we all know that both Mike and Gloria are fantastic chefs, although I was astounded at the type of meals that came out of the tiny 2x2 kitchen.  I did feel guilty as they did all of the work, although I do believe contributing a few blog posts counts for work, right?

So overall, Mike and Gloria, I do not know how I can possibly thank you enough for this experience, filled with countless moments of joy.   And blog readers, if you are ever lucky enough to get a phone call inviting you to join them for a sail, Do Not Hesitate, say Yes! You will not regret it; it will be the best time of your life!

Sheila

41 39.410 N, 71 26.681 W

Storm over East Greenwich 

Sailing from Block Island to East Greenwich

Ten miles of wing-on-wing downwind sailing inside Narragansett Bay

Bird 183 - Ring Necked Pheasant

Bird 183 - Ring Necked Pheasant 

Friday 18th June 2021

It has become increasingly difficult to spot birds that would be new additions to our “Year afloat list”. However, as Gloria and I walked along a sandy road this afternoon near the former Block Island Coast Guard Station we spotted a Ring Necked Pheasant. This feral bird, introduced from the Old World and a common sight on our drive to work when we lived in Cheshire, England, is the 183rd entry on our bird list. We were very excited, which just goes to prove there is no thrill too cheap for a live-aboard boater. I also know that most of you are not the slightest bit interested in our bird list!

This morning we took our folding bikes to shore and Sheila rented a bike from Aldo’s bike rental. Aldo and Maria Leone were the founders of the Aldo Bakery on Block Island fifty years ago and their descendants, Aldo and Bobby, have continued and expanded the business. They have a bakery / coffee shop / ice cream shop and restaurant in New Shoreham and they rent out bikes, scooters and small cars.  In high season they have a boat that tours the harbor offering coffee, pastry and all things excellent. You know they are around when you hear “andiamo” shouted across the water … “let’s go”. We cycled into town and spent a couple of hours wandering around and hanging out before heading along the beach road and stopping for an excellent lunch at Tiger-Fish, an Asian fusion restaurant. We bicycled back to New Harbor and Gloria and I continued down to the inlet to the Great Salt Pond and the old Coast Guard Station. The buildings are now owned by the community of Block Island and are used to house the summer police force. 

We are now back aboard Cotinga, enjoying our last evening in Block Island. Tomorrow we head out back to East Greenwich.

Mike

41 11.142 N, 71 34.678 W

One of my favorite views on Block Island - from Champlin Road as it winds it's way down to the former Coast guard Station.

Looking across the edge of the Great Salt Pond towards the former Coast guard Station

The former Coast guard Station

A sailboat (30ft Pearson) makes its way through the inlet to the Great Salt Pond

Hydrangeas seem to do really well in the coastal environment ... in our garden they just die!

The Eponymous Island

The Eponymous Island

Thursday, June 17, 2021

By this point in our year afloat, the early start is a pretty common happening.  However, it never seems to get much easier.  Today we were up at 5:30 am for a 6 o’clock departure.  I did notice that once the anchor was stowed the time was 6:02—not as the captain had commanded.  The winds were about 8-10 knots from the northwest and we motor-sailed along Long Island Sound with both genoa and mainsail and just a little engine.  We expected that the seas would build after we passed Montauck.  In anticipation of possible swells, I had taken some seasick medication.  While there was a long period swell, it really was barely noticeable.

By 9:00 am we were approaching Block Island (Mike’s favorite).  We got the sails down and stowed before entering the cut into the Great Salt Pond.  To our surprise, there were only a few free moorings.  Apparently even mid week in June, the mooring field will get full.  Once we were all tied up, we indulged in “second breakfast”.  I’m starting to sense that we eat like hobbits—early and often.  After putting on the sail cover and tidying the cockpit, we dropped the outboard on the engine and went to shore.  For the first time in almost a week, Sheila stepped foot onto dry land.  

We got a taxi and went out to the north end of the island to visit the lighthouse and the point.  It’s nesting season for seagulls, so the birds are quite vocal about what they see as our intrusion into their domain.  We saw plenty of herring and black-backed gulls and chicks.  On the beach near the point, we saw a pair of oystercatchers with a chick.  In the shallow waters off the beach, we saw about a dozen seals.  I couldn’t decide if the seals were eying the gull chicks as a potential snack or if they were looking for a quiet stretch of beach to haul out for a rest.

The taxi brought us back to “The Oar”, a bar / restaurant overlooking the Great Salt Pond.  Sheila treated us to a delicious lunch (meal number three if you are counting) on the deck overlooking the harbor.  I think we are all a bit tired; perhaps I’m just projecting... 

Postscript: meal number four … Thai green curry … yummy!

Gloria

41 11.142 N, 71 34.678 W

North Light - a half mile walk along the beach from where the taxi dropped us off

Oyster Catcher - normally shy and hard to photograph, but because they had their baby with them it was relatively easy to get close (I did try not to stress them too much)

Oyster Catcher baby

Black back gull close up

Black back gull baby

A First Time for Everything

A First Time for Everything

Wednesday 16th June 2021

As Gloria mentioned yesterday, we took turns taking showers last night, including me.  When she previously told me they had a shower on board, I have to admit I was very skeptical, I even brought cleansing wipes just in case. But after 4 days, I had to cave in and try it, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  They really have a good system and it works!!!

Last night, I felt like a baby sleeping in a cradle as there was more rocking than normal, but I did not mind.  We (I) woke up a bit later today and after coffee, we discussed the plans. As you know, the changing weather was an important factor, and safety and comfort always come first.  After much discussion, checking weather and currents, including Gloria showing me the current maps and nautical miles to our destination, we decided to stay here for the morning, then sail to an anchorage on the east side of Gardiner's Island this afternoon. This would allow us to make use of favorable currents tomorrow morning with an early departure for Block Island. One additional advantage of that strategy is that with good winds this afternoon and we could unroll the sails!  Can you tell that sailing under the current sunshine and blue skies sounded absolutely perfect to me?

This plan still meant there was time to go ashore, especially as Mike and Gloria had never been to Sag Harbor before.   However, Mike mentioned a possible extra bumpy dinghy ride, so I declined and decided to stay on board and watch the huge yachts arriving, the osprey diving and in general have a relaxing morning.  Mike and Gloria left for shore, so I’ll let them tell you what they did. 

(Mike) Well I never realized that my brother-in-law Rod had such high level influence. One comment on the blog about light winds of Long Island Sound and he invoked the Gods to intervene and during the night the wind piped up to 15 knots! This morning the Sag Harbor outer anchorage was covered in white caps. Gloria and I did venture ashore and had a couple of pleasant hours wandering around this ritzy little town. Of course we managed to find a very nice restaurant for lunch, eating outside on the patio. Sheila didn’t go hungry either as we do have lots of food on the boat! It has been a stunning day with cloudless blue skies and so it seemed a great idea to take advantage of the conditions and have a real day-sail, covering about 15 miles and putting us in a good position for tomorrow’s journey. 

When they returned, we began sailing to our next destination, a quiet cove off Gardiner's Island, the largest privately owned island in the US.  We had 2.5 hours of sunshine, perfect wind and spectacular sailing as we crossed Sag Harbor and Gardeners Bay. As we turned down the sheltered east shore of Gardiner's Island we were almost downwind and going quite slowly so for the last 30 minutes we motor-sailed.   The cove is called Tobaccolot Bay and is beautiful; it consists of about 30-foot high cliffs, and beaches with large boulders.  We are the only ship in the cove and we are currently listening to the birds singing and the sound of gentle swells breaking on the beach. It is quite tranquil.

(Mike) As we sailed this afternoon we listened to an ongoing saga back in Sag Harbor where a 41-foot vessel, situated about 1000 feet outside the breakwater, was taking on water and needed to be rescued by the Harbor Master and a towboat. We heard conversations between the Harbor Master, Coast Guard, tow boat and marina about water levels being 4-5 feet in the vessel, the pumps not being able to keep up, towing it to a travel lift and getting it out of the water before it sank. We have no idea what caused the leak but thankfully they were successful helping it.

Sheila 

41 04.845 N, 72 04.940 W

The old Custom House, Sag Harbor

Gloria's truly excellent lunch - vegan grain bowl

Looking east towards Montauk and Block Island Sound from Tobaccolot Bay

A beautiful but cool evening in Tobaccolot Bay

Sunset - abstract - slow exposure + horizontal motion

Looking at dusk - abstract - slow exposure + horizontal motion

Dusk - abstract - sharp high iso image partially overlaid on very slow handheld blurry image of same location

Sagging into Sag Harbor

Sagging into Sag Harbor

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

After a nine-hour trip we were quite tired by the time we anchored in Sag Harbor.  To think that we were accustomed to working nine hours a day back in the dim and distant past.... 

The forecast wasn’t overly promising for today.  The marine forecast predicted showers and thunderstorms while the land forecast suggested that it would be a partly cloudy day.  We set off at eight a.m. with little wind … actually no wind.  Initially we had some favorable current, but as the day went on our speed declined.  Then as we were approaching Plum Gut at about 2 pm, our speed started to creep back up.  We passed through Plum Gut at about 3pm with slack current, exactly as planned. We had described Plum Gut and The Race to Sheila as places where conditions could be really challenging because of strong currents, but with slack tide and no wind it was really like a millpond.  Then it was about seven miles to the start of the path into Sag Harbor. It must have been some kind of a perception problem because those seven miles seemed interminable.

We have prepared dinner—gazpacho soup.  Mike is working on croutons for the soup while I write the blog.  After dinner it’s shower night.  I figure boater’s midnight will arrive early tonight!

Gloria  

41 00.514 N, 72 16.884 W

Long Island Sound under dead calm hazy conditions

Cotinga motoring up Long Island Sound

Cotinga motoring up Long Island Sound

Cotinga motoring up Long Island Sound

Plum Gut in the most benign conditions you can imagine

A Rainy Trip

A Rainy Trip

Monday 14th June 2021

Sheila continues to provide material for the blog … what a star !

We left Oyster Bay around 9:15 this morning in order to avoid predicted thunderstorms later this afternoon.  When I left Boston, the long range forecast for this week was 20% rain, which I interpreted as 80% chance sunshine!  Well, as we motor sailed up Long Island Sound, we encountered scattered showers.  There actually was a pretty effect when the rain hit the waves and bounced off.  To be honest, this was not what I was expecting, but we managed to make the best of it with stimulating conservation in the midst of adverse weather. I stayed dry sitting very close to the cockpit behind the dodger while Mike and Gloria did all of the heavy lifting and were completely soaked.  To be fair, they were better prepared for foul weather than I was (see comment below).   For part of the journey when the wind strengthened we were able to turn off the motor and experience true sailing using both Genoa and Mainsail.  Being optimistic, I kept telling Gloria that it looks like it is clearing up ahead, and immediately afterwards, it would start raining again every time I said that.  We made it to Port Jefferson on schedule after about 4 hours.   We had a warm lunch and cup of tea. 

Of course after lunch, the sun started peaking out of the clouds, so I decided to come and sit outside while others are getting a well deserved nap after all of their hard work.  After all, I am just coming along for the ride, and what a pleasant ride it has been so far, despite the rain.

Sheila

40 57.949 N, 73 05.748 W

Note: Our foul weather gear is now 9 years old and both the bibs and the jackets have mostly lost their waterproof coatings and leak like sieves. We desperately need to buy new gear but it’s very expensive so we are slow to get round to that.

Mike 

Threatening skies as we motor out of Oyster Bay

Flat seas, rainy weather - Gloria and Sheila get as much shelter as possible behind the dodger

The Dumb Dog towed behind Cotinga on our way to Fort Jefferson

Dramatic skies over Long Island

A Restful Sunday

A Restful Sunday

Sunday June 13, 2021

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s sail; in fact it was spectacular!  However, I certainly was not accustomed to waking up at 4:00am.  This morning I woke up at a more normal time and heard Mike in the kitchen making coffee.  In my opinion, there are few things better than waking up to the smell of coffee.    

After breakfast,  we looked over the sailing charts and discussed some options for our next few days.  Mike checked Simrad, a very complicated navigational electronic system for boaters and patiently explained to me the symbols for anchoring, the water depths, currents, wind direction and safe places to anchor.  We discovered that the initial plans to leave today would be impacted the following day by incoming thunderstorms. We agreed it was better to stay here another day, after all, it is a beautiful location, and the sun is shining and it would be safer.

The suggestion of having a relaxing Sunday was enthusiastically received.  Those that wanted to go ashore could, those that preferred to stay on the boat had that option.  And one of us, not accustomed to beautiful views of ships sailing in the harbor, the peaceful sounds of waves hitting the boat, and the gentle rocking of a boat, really liked that suggestion.

Mike decided to go ashore whilst Gloria and I decided to stay aboard ….

Now the custom on the Cotinga is for guests to write a blog post on their last day.  I am so thoroughly enjoying Gloria and Mike’s hospitality on this cruise that I did not mind writing another (although I have been told that I am not absolved from writing one on the last day).  

Sheila

40 53.070 N, 73 30.759 W

Gloria and Mike in the cockpit at Oyster Bay

A selection of flower photos ...

A selection of flower photos ...

A selection of flower photos ...

Now That’s An Early Start!

Now That’s An Early Start!

Saturday 12th June 2021

4am is an ungodly time of day to get up! However, 4am in June is a lot easier to take than 4 am in December and in all honesty I like the early morning once I am up. We needed to make an early start in order to catch a positive current up the East River through New York. We had a quick cup of coffee and were under way from Atlantic Highlands shortly after 4.30 am and already the sky was starting to lighten. The swells in New York Bay were bigger than we expected but we made good progress and arrived off the Battery just as the “flood” was starting to flow quite briskly in the direction of Long Island Sound. I had great expectations of stunning early morning light against the New York skyline, but unfortunately the skies were mostly cloudy and grey. Our speed over the ground steadily increased from about 6 knots as we progressed up the river until we reached Hell’s Gate and we were making 11.5 knots, which might be a boat record at this point. Of course this was the section where we met an oncoming tanker but we didn’t have any problem avoiding it. As we emerged into the south-west end of Long Island Sound we raised our main sail and continued to motor-sail almost directly into a strengthening north-easterly breeze. The next fifteen miles to Oyster Bay were a bit of a trial. Having been super overheated a few days ago we now found ourselves in 60oF temperatures with an apparent wind of close to 20 knots coming across the deck. We were delighted to finally set anchor just before 1pm and retire below for lunch. 

This afternoon Gloria and I took a quick dinghy ride into town whilst Sheila rested her leg (suspected calf muscle tear) and this evening we are happily relaxing.

Mike

40 53.070 N, 73 30.759 W

 

The sun peeps through the clouds as a tug heads out to the ocean. This was more or less the last we saw of the sun today!

Sheila and gloria crossing New York Bay

A happy Mikey! (photo: Sheila)

The Dumb Dog takes a ride through the East River NYC

A panoramic view back towards the south end of Manhattan

The tanker we passed right at the Hell's Gate dog-leg where we were doing 11.5 knots!

Mike sitting outside a coffee shop in Oyster Bay ... with his uber-cool sunglasses reflecting the umbrella above (Photo: Gloria)

Dinghy Trepidation

Dinghy Trepidation

Friday, June 11, 2021

It has become a tradition to have our friends and family write a blog when they come and stay on the boat. Often this happens at the end of visit, sometimes requiring gentle persuasion … but Sheila jumped right in on day one and volunteered! 

It had been a tough year of not being able to see friends, having travel plans cancelled and being somewhat isolated.  So when Gloria and Mike called and asked me if I had any plans for the summer, and I replied that I did not, they asked if I would be interested in joining them on the Cotinga.  My heart skipped a beat!  This would be the chance of a lifetime to go sailing for a few days.  Still, I did not answer yes immediately.  I was a worried about having to use the “Dumb Dog”, the dinghy to get aboard the Cotinga, especially after reading blog after blog about it leaking, let alone the possibility of losing my balance and falling overboard. Both Mike and Gloria assured me that it would be fine; in fact, Mike sent me a detailed description of how they enter and exit using “Dumb Dog”.   Well, after some consideration, I followed my heart and said yes!  

After a train ride from Boston along the coast, followed by a ride on Sea Streak, a Catamaran Ferry out of Manhattan, I arrived at Atlantic Highlands and saw Mike ad Gloria on the dock waiting for me.   We took the dreaded walk to “Dumb Dog”, and I put on my life jacket that Mike suggested I bring with me.   Mike demonstrated the technique for entering it from the dock, and I nervously tried to replicate his moves.  It was a little scary to me, but I was successful. Gloria then climbed on and we rode it out to Cotinga, about a five-minute ride.  It was a little bumpy, but I felt safe.  Next, Mike explained how to climb aboard from the dinghy.  I watched Gloria and managed to get on board!  I did it!   

Next we sat and chatted and had wonderful conversation, as I had not seen them in over a year.  Mike prepared dinner, and as the blog readers know, Mike is an amazing chef, I think because of his chemistry background.  After all, what chemist does not enjoy cooking?  The dinner was wonderful.  We had a delicious mustardy salmon, risotto and cauliflower followed by splitting a small flourless chocolate cake that that I picked up from the Magnolia Bakery right at the Amtrak exit of Penn Station.  Well, I think it is going to be an early evening as Mike informed me that we are leaving at 4 am tomorrow morning to catch the right current to take us though the East River in Manhattan.  Good night from the Cotinga! 

Sheila

40 25.004 N, 74 01.302 W

Sheila hard at work writing the blog

Rainbow over Atlantic Highlands

A Change of Dinner Plan

A Change of Dinner Plan

Thursday 10th June 2021

We started out with two main goals this morning – clean up the boat ready for Sheila’s arrival tomorrow afternoon and eat dinner at the local Thai restaurant in town. The morning went according to plan – Gloria worked on the inside of the boat whilst I cleaned up the cockpit and side decks, using Soft-Scrub with bleach to remove the nasty stains from the “fuzzy head” insects. After a quick lunch we jumped in the dinghy and went into the dinghy dock at the marina. By this point the breeze was blowing fairly solidly at 10-15 knots and as we approached the marina we met another dinghy coming out just as his motor died, so we ended up towing him back in with us. 

We had a lovely walk down a bike path that runs eastwards along the shore and with a decent breeze it felt so pleasant after the oppressive heat yesterday. We thought we would go straight out to dinner after our walk but it seemed too early so we headed back to Cotinga to hang out for a while. However, the wind had now picked up to 15-20 knots and we had to motor back directly into the building waves. I ended up getting completely soaked and had to change out of all my clothes once we were back on board. When the wind didn’t ease up we dropped our plans to go out for dinner and Gloria cooked a fantastic tuna and rice dish that her mother used to make. You start by sautéing onions, garlic and celery and then add stock (chicken), rosemary and basmati rice. When the rice is cooked you added the tuna and voila a simple but delicious dinner. The secret is to use tuna in oil rather than water and use that oil to cook the veggies. I also made a bread and butter pudding (as we would call it in the UK) which I enjoyed but was a bit squidgy for Gloria who isn’t really into custard. Now it’s about 8pm and the weather had calmed down a little. 

Mike

40 25.004 N, 74 01.302 W

Dandelion

Back-lit leaf

Another beautiful sunset. The ferry moving across behind the breakwater is the SeaStreak fast ferry to / from Manhattan that Sheila will arrive on tomorrow.

Hot, hotter, hottest

Hot, hotter, hottest

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

According to the forecast, today’s high was going to be 85 F.  That’s more or less the same as yesterday.  Somehow today seemed a lot hotter.  Perhaps it’s my level of activity that explains the perceived difference. 

Yesterday was a day of many naps.  Every time I sat down for any length of time, I fell asleep.  The couple hours of sleep that we got after arrival at Atlantic Highlands didn’t seem to make up for the lost sleep on the overnight passage.  

Today we started doing some real jobs.  We tried to make a menu and a corresponding shopping list.  Then it was off to the grocery store.  As our list was fairly extensive, we decided that we would do a partial shop today and come back for the rest tomorrow.  That was a good idea as the big shopping bag nearly did Mike in.  We filled water jerry cans and went back to the boat.  

Once the shopping was put away and lunch was consumed, we went back to town on a beer run.  Usually, I’m not keen to participate in the beer runs—what’s in it for me? However, today, hanging out on the wildly overheated boat didn’t seem such a great option.  We stopped in an auto parts place that didn’t have the windshield gasket sealant we were hoping for but it did have air conditioning!  The beer shop was next.  On the way back to the dinghy we stopped off for ice cream.  More water jerry cans were filled.  Then back to Cotinga.

Yesterday, we had an enormous thunderstorm that cooled off the late afternoon.  Today the storms seem to have passed us by.  A cold front is due to come through tonight.  We shall count our blessings.

Gloria

40 25.004 N, 74 01.302 W

 The following shots were taken over the past two days. I did contemplate only putting half of them up today and the rest tomorrow as that would take the pressure off having to take any photos tomorrow ... but actually that "pressure" helps motivate me to get my camera out when I'm feeling lazy, which is a good thing. So here they are in the order in which I took them, not what I think are the best ones first!

A T-storm passes through Atlantic Highlands on Tuesday evening bring 30 knot winds and torrential rain

Looking back towards the town as the storm starts to move away

After the storm we were treated to a spectacular sunset. All of these boats are on the marina mooring field. We are anchored on the other side of the channel to the south

An incredible aura as the sun dips towards the horizon

Tonight brought another spectacular sky

We could see T-storms passing in the distance but none came close to us

This boat is anchored at the tail end of the mooring field quite close to the breakwater that protects the harbor from the north. You can see the Verrazano Bridge in the background and the Manhattan skyline looked cool. If I wasn't so lazy I would have taken the dinghy over to the breakwater and taken some skyline shots on a tripod. Maybe tomorrow night ...

A paddleboat steamer / booze cruise returns to the harbor. Even shooting at 3200 ISO the light was too low to get a clear sharp shot so I figured embrace the movement (handheld 4 seconds, F16, 86 mm lens, ISO = 500) ... and if you hadn't guessed, this is my favorite!