Back to the Block

Back to the Block

Saturday 31st May to Sunday 1st June

After we arrived at Sag Harbor it blew like stink. We have had so little wind since Rod arrived in Portsmouth it seemed strange to suddenly be bombarded with 20+ knot winds. We felt completely secure aboard Cotinga, with plenty of swinging room and 100 feet of chain out. However, the harbor was so choppy that none of really felt like launching the dinghy and heading into town. It would have been a very wet dinghy ride. So on Saturday we spent the whole day hanging out in the boat, reading books and eating!

We expected the winds and seas to subside on Sunday and envisaged a leisurely downwind sail with ~ 15 knots of westerly winds. Positive tidal currents would either be early in the morning or from mid afternoon onwards, and when conditions didn’t improve as early as we hoped, we decided to split the journey in two. In the morning we would follow a winding route through relatively sheltered waters around the south side of Gardiner Island and then anchor on the east shore for a few hours. We could then complete the remaining 23 miles direct to Block Island later in the afternoon. 

We raised the full main sail and pulled up the anchor (with some difficulty) at around 8am and headed out of Sag Harbor. It turned out to be a wild ride. The winds were still consistently in the low 20s, with gusts up to 32 knots! The navigation through narrow channels and shallow water was tricky and required some exciting gybes. As we turned north, before tucking into the lee of Gardiner Island, we had a lot of spray flying over the deck and cockpit. Once anchored, we were well protected from the waves but still experiencing the gusty winds. We cooked lunch and postponed any decision to go or stay until later in the afternoon. 

By 3 pm it was clear that conditions were improving and we once again set sail with the full main. In contrast to earlier in the day, this turned out to be a leisurely passage. During our lunch stop we had moved the dinghy from the davits to the foredeck in anticipation of rough seas. However, although somewhat rolly, the waves were better than we expected.  Ironically, as we approached Block Island, the winds became so light that we fired up the engine and motor sailed the remaining 6 miles. Once inside the Great Salt Pond we dropped the main sail and picked up a mooring. There have been several occasions when we have arrived at Block Island and there hasn’t been a single mooring available. Today we counted just two other boats on rental moorings! We had Cotinga squared away by 8pm in time for a pretty sunset. We cooked up Pasta al Ametriciani (sp?) and had a cosy night on board.

It’s great to be back at Block Island. It has become something of a tradition for us to stop here at the end of our years afloat. Today we will go ashore and enjoy walking around and tomorrow we plan to complete the final leg of our journey back to East Greenwich.

Mike

41 11.022 N, 71 34.628 W

Powerboat moored at Sag Harbor

Ditto

Sailing to Block Island - 6 x multiple exposure taken with a wide angle lens on a tripod, in an attempt to illustrate the roll. You can get out your protractor and measure the angle!

Late afternoon sun in Block Island Sound

For anyone who knows Block Island, this is a shocking sight ... hardly any boats in the anchorage!

The last of the sunset ... it was still quite cold outside!