IDA is here and gone, - life jacket works

Being this far north we planned on having less impacts from hurricanes, you know they are suppose to stay down in Florida.  Anyways Henri came through and we saw little wind and rain where we were at.  Ida is now coming through so we moved to a protected spot for wind, Coney Island Creek.  We knew the rain was going to be a lot, 3 to 5 inches, and we got that.  We  received 3 weather warnings on our phone for flooding issues.  We were low on boat water but filled our 100 gallon tank in about 2 hours with rain water using our rain catcher. 

The most dangerous thing on a boat - a schedule - and a COVID shot

We always try to time our boat moves for favorable winds and seas.  Lets face it, we have the time - so no need to move the boat when it is not a good time.  A common sailor saying is:  The most dangerous item on a boat is a schedule.

As we were heading southwest, with following seas and wind, having a pleasant sail, we saw this guy northeast.    You can get some decent seas in Long Island Sound, especially when heading against them.  This catamaran we passed must have been on a schedule.

We got our first Covid shot at a  CVS in Newport RI. and after waiting the 4 weeks it was time to get the 2nd shot.    Since we had gone with Moderna on the first shot we needed to find a spot where they offered the 2nd.  Port Washington Rite Aide was the spot so we planned the walk up to the store and then planned on the second day being a "recovery" day.  The first shot didn't have a huge impact other than Kris not being able to move her arm for two to three days but we had heard the second shot had more issues.

So today we have laid around the boat with all the side affects that were predicted, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fevers, and nausea.  Hopefully tomorrow gets us back to normal because these side effects suck.

Common Side Effects

On the arm where you got the shot:

• Pain
• Redness
• Swelling

Throughout the rest of your body:

• Tiredness
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• Chills
• Fever
• Nausea

Tropical Storm Henri, Super Duper Weenie, and good friends

 Tropical Storm Henri was a no issue for us.   We moved anchorages to get maximum protection for the strongest winds, but knew we would be exposed to waves and swell from 15 knots winds for a night.  We endured a bouncy night, and the next morning, when the winds were going to be bad - well it did not happen.  Henri moved the opposite direction of projected, so we did not have any issues.  Just a lot of rain.

Henri's Projected path.

 

So we sat on the boat for a couple of days, with non damaging wind, comfortable seas, and lots of rain.  Our water tanks were filled to the top.

After Henri left, we headed up to LLoyd Harbor/Huntington to pick up our sling seat. We were getting it remade - and Dean was missing it, as it is his favorite perch on the boat.

No Sling Seat

New Seat Installed

After the seat pickup, we headed over to Bridgeport, as it was time to indulge in Super Duper Weenine, and our friend John had been kind enough again to allow us to ship items to his house.   We met John for Super Duper and had a good lunch.

Super Duper

Its not a large or fancy place

Dean ate at Super Duper frequently when working in Fairfield, so it was nice to revisit, and to have lunch with friends.  He had to get a shirt as well.

  

We are currently on a floating dock at the Fayeweather Yacht club in Black Rock.  It is ony $2/foot, which is really cheap for the New England area.  There is no power or water, but giving us a dock to use is nice, as we had work to do on our anchor chain, putting in a new joint link, and painting out dimensions so it is easy to tell how much chain we have out.

25' increments in yellow, 50' in orange, and 100' in white

We also have been enjoying the wildlife.  The swans have obviously been fed, and are not shy about begging for food.

Lucky we had some bread on board.

In addition, we were surprised to see this buck strolling along the shore eating grass.   On the other side of the trees, is a old dump site, now a greenspace, with a large solar farm.

We are where the orange "g" is.

We also were lucky to be able to visit with some friends we had not seen since around 2012, and had a nice dinner out with Mark and Laurie.  Our son Derek was good friends with their boys when we lived in Connecticut.  Had a good night, with good pizza.

Fall officially starts on September 22, but meteorological fall is September 1.  Meteorological seasons are based on temperature and calendar.  This morning it is 68 degrees out, with a high of 74.  Next 10 days there is only two days above 80 projected.   That might sound ideal to most of you, but keep in mind on the water is generally 5 to 10 degrees colder.  Add a wind, and BRRRR.

So for us, it is time to head south, so we will start by heading west on Long Island Sound, and prep and wait for a weather window to head south to Cape May, NJ, then up the Delaware and plan on spending September in the Cheasapeake.

It's good to have options

We left Boston, spent a night in a nice calm spot on the way south, and then had a decision to make.  We wanted to head west to City Island to pick up our new Asymmetrical Spinnaker, and have time to test it out before heading south for the winter,  but the winds typically come from the south west so getting there was going to be a challenge. In addition, we were trying to plan timing to stop at Block Island, and have our friend John come out and spend some time with us.

We decided to head to Block Island first, and the weather looked good, and fit Johns timing.  We rented bikes, rode around part of the island, saw some sights, had some good meals, and enjoyed Johns company.

South lighthouse

Through the Cape Cod Canal, and on to Boston

 We finally left Newport, and with some good winds had a nice sail to a little place called Onset.  Anchored in Onset Bay for a couple of nights.  Onset is special, because it is a nice anchorage right before the Cape Cod Canal.   Current through the canal can be quite strong, so you need to time the passage, at least we do, if we don't want to fight the current with our small engines.

Onset Bay, boats on moorings.  Look at that calm water.

Newport Rhode Island - over a week in one place

 We got to Newport on July 19th.  We plan to leave on the 30th.  That is 10 full days at anchor - why so long?  - parts.  

Had some mail sent, and found a shop to custom make a piece of stainless for us to mount our winch on for the new asymmetrical spinnaker we have ordered.   The shop needed some time, so that meant we would hang around for a week at least.    

That mirror like finish on the stainless won't last forever, but it is pretty right now.

We have enjoyed Newport.  The anchorage is crowded, which we don't like, but watching boats has been entertaining.  While we have been here we have taken a couple of walks.  One was the Cliff walk, which is a walk around the waters edge, from up high (hence cliff).  It goes by some mansions, and has some paved places, some rock, and some gravel.   It was a hot day when we walked it, but did enjoy it.

Map of Cliff Walk

A small home visible on the walk - now a college

Another small place

Nice bay, with more "small" homes

Tunnel we had to walk through

Nice sunny day

Not a sandy beach, lots of large rocks

We also walked in town a bit.  Lots of historic homes.

Typical historic house

Much larger historic house

Had lunch at Garys.  Good burgers and nice atmosphere - and not the over nautical typical tourist fare.

 

360 View of the anchorage.  Sorry it is jerky, it was a bouncy wave day

Newport Bridge at night looks nice

Old Saybrook, Newport Rhode Island

We left New Haven in a slighty foggy morning, and motored to Old Saybrook. It was a bit of a tense motor. Even though we have AIS (Automatic Identification System) on board, not all boats use it. So even though we can electronically see some boats, we can't see all boats as we don't have radar. 

We have thought about getting radar, but it is just one of those expenses that has low use, but really high priority when you need it.       At times we could only see about 1/4 mile visibility.