Since we didn't spend much time in the Chesapeake on our way north, we wanted to be sure that we took the time on our way home to get to know this amazing place a bit better. Tomorrow we leave Washington DC taking a couple of days to reach the mouth of the Potomac and make way for Charleston. By the time we reach the ICW again, we will have spent 40+ days and traveled over 500 miles in the bay - home to some of the prettiest places we have stopped on this trip.
Upper Chesapeake stops included Havre de Grace, Georgetown, Rock Hall, St. Michaels and a few gorgeous anchorages.
Annapolis which is always a favorite stop - brought some excitement with the potential landfall of Juaquin, a Navy Football game, reconnecting with Meanders for the boat shows and perhaps, best of all, a visit from the Adams & Barcomb's as they gathered and prepared for Colette & Will's wedding.
Washington DC: Not our first visit to DC, but a very different one, in that we really got into the city streets and spent a lot of time visiting the monuments and museums. Seeing the cities by foot has been one of the greatest unexpected experiences of this trip for us. You really get a feel for where you are when you get rid of your car!
Leaving Oyster Bay, the weather report called for a great boating day on the Sound and a not so great boating day the following day. So we decided to head to NYC a day early. Checking the tide at Hell Gate sealed the deal when our ETA showed all was favorable- it was meant to be.
When we neared the East River, the current certainly was with us. Our knots quickly went from 8 to 10....it felt like Long Island Sound pulled the chain and maxing out at 14.2 knots "flushed" us into the East River. The GS was flying!!!
Staying in the city never gets old and we never tire of gazing on Manhattan especially at night-breathtaking.
Left Manhattan at 4:45 am thinking we would take advantage of the ambient light of the city and do the Jersey Shore in one day. Other than the Verrazano bridge lights, the city lights actually made it hard to tell what lights were other boats and which ones were land as we made way. However our struggles and initial slow going was rewarded handsomely with one I'd the prettiest sunrises I've ever seen.
The ride down the coast was picture perfect blue skies, lots of visibility and almost flat water with a slightly favorable tide. 14 1/2 hours later, just as the sun was getting ready to set, we pulled into our slip at Canyon Club.
So, this leg of the trip, really has been about breaking GS records; new speed record 14.2 kits; longest day underway 14.5 hrs. Maybe we should play the lotto. 14 seems to be a popular number.
Well we made a last minute decision to hit Nantucket before heading south. We are so glad we did. What a great place (I know I say that a lot). We met up with "Meanders" and had such a good time strolling through town, touring Cisco Brewery and ending the day with a home cooked meal courtesy of Marty and Andy -which was over the top delicious btw.
Martha's Vineyard
Early morning departure on Thursday (6 am lines dropped) heading to Martha's Vineyard for a couple of days. We were treated to a gorgeous sunrise and smooth seas. There is such great boating in New England! We will miss it for sure but are pretty excited to start our trip south, back to old friend
Pt. Judith, RI
Trip from M/V to PT Judith took about 7 hours PT Judith is a commercial fishing village that is still very active today. Riding in through the breakwater and up into the harbor was pretty cool. It was like being in the "way back" machine, fishing boats tied up on one side of the inlet and on the other side kids and people on the pier fishing, swimming and enjoying their Labor Day weekend. It was so special to see young kids enjoying the "simple pleasures of life near the water" as they swam in the harbor and jumped off the docks & pylons.
About a mile up the harbor we dropped anchor in a very quiet and picturesque Point Judith Pond, and rafted with Meanders for the night. Poured ourselves a nice cool beverage and began to plan our trek to Block Island. Sitting there, feet up we kept getting whiff of something that smelled really bad. Turns out we all mentioned it individually, but then let it pass. After a bit, Mr. B figured we better see what was what and as we opened up our lazerette, we immediately found where the stink was coming from. It was us. We'd had had a battery explode, which had been the source of a bang we heard the night before that we couldn't figure out and had chocked it off to a rogue "boat noise" and ignored it.
Essex:
This cut our stay in PT Judith short as we headed to Essex boat yard for battery replacement. The good news is that it's a picture perfect day on the water and not too crazy busy even for the holiday weekend. As it turns out this was a good decision, as the batteries were being replaced, we discovered that a battery #2 of 3 was getting ready to go; it would not have been good to have had an issue on an island and been down to 1 out of 3 house batteries. So, as we wait a few days for parts to come in, we now have a chance to visit "Mother Therese" and spend a few more nights in Hamburg Cove before leaving New England waters. If you look closely in some of the pictures, you can see the leaves starting to change.
It's hard to believe that we are sitting here on the last night of our week in Hyannis. As I mentioned, GS was pretty salty and crusty and desperately needed some TLC. So we gave her a couple of spa days. Washed and scrubbed and polished and she is looking good again; ready to hit the seas! Cape Cod is such a beautiful place, and we spent so much time here both as kids separately and together as adults, that we decided to rent a car and "be-bop" around and take in the sights.
Enjoy your cruise on the Cape:
Originally we were to start heading back south tomorrow, but we have decided to make one more stop in New England and are headed to Nantucket Island. Link to all the Pix here
Well, we have passed the halfway mark; they aren't kidding when they say time flies when you're having fun.
Making our way to Martha's Vineyard from Cuttyhunk was a beautiful ride.
Blue skies and flat water - what more could you want or ask for? As we neared the Vineyard, it was amazing to watch the traffic on the water swell. Ferries passing left and right; the ferries headed to the island were filled with people, while the ferries leaving MV carried only a a few passengers.
Stayed on a mooring in Edgartown harbor for the entire week and it was wonderful! Getting into town was a nice dingy or launch ride away. Once in town, everything was very accessible by bike or bus. You buy an all day bus pass for $8 and can get on and off as many times as you like. Our excursions took us to;
Chappaquiddick, where we biked to Cape Poge, which is home to South Beach, Mytoi Japanese Gardens, Dike Bridge (where Kennedy in 1969, killing Mary Jo Kopechne) and the very popular South Beach
Oaks Bluff, which is about 7 miles from Edgartown via a bike path that meanders along the ocean, with a local brewery (Bad Martha's) an easy stop along the way. Oaks Bluff is home to a collection of gingerbread houses in the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, which grew out of the "campmeeting" movement of the early 19th century.
On the way home from dinner one night we saw an advertisement for Livingston Taylor performance at the old Whaling church. Livingston is one of James Taylor's younger brothers, who is also a very gifted musician. He teaches at Berkley College of Music in Boston and he frequently mentoring young promising talent that he crosses paths with. This night, along with Livingston, Chelsea Berry performed - and man is she wildly talented. Check her out on YouTube if you have some time. Isaac Taylor, brother Hugh Taylors son also performed a couple of songs and it's clear that the musical DNA was passed along.
Aquinnah, formerly known as Gay's Head, is located on the western most point of the island. It is famous for it's colorful clay cliffs and lighthouse. The cliffs have been eroding over the years from trapped groundwater within the cliffs, necessitating the need to move the lighthouse back from the cliff's edge. This move of 129 feet started April 2015 and finished only a few weeks before our visit (August 2015).
The Weaver's spent a few days with us. What a great time we had biking the island, and just chilaxin. It was great they were able to spend the nigh on the GS. I think this was the most people we've had sleep on her to date - 7 in total. It was just a really nice time; catching up, hanging with the kids, swimming off the back of the boat and the best was waking up and getting to have morning coffee together. Auntie Becky especially enjoyed rousting the youngsters out of bed the next morning. The Vineyard, Cuttyhunk and Newport put the GS 2 weeks being away from a marina and she is definitely showing it. She's a little crusty and is in need of some TLC in Hyannis.
Located about 6 miles off the southern coast of Massachusetts and about 25 miles from Newport RI, this is a place that time seems to have forgotten. There are few cars, no bars and 4 restaurants (only 1 accommodates eating in vs take out). Full time residents top out at 32 in the winter and summer population swells to about 400. 2 of the residents are children who attend the one room school house. The island is 1.5 miles long and only 3/4 miles wide, making it the 4th largest of the Elizabeth Islands.
Most of all it's just quiet. Sitting here all I hear are the occasional dingy motor and the sailboat rigging slapping against their masts. From our spot, we can see Massachusetts and Gayhead cliffs on Martha's Vineyard.
The days here were spent exploring the island, from the highest point to the west end, watching the comings and goings on the mooring field and swimming or should I say floating off the back of the boat.
The highest point on the island is Lookout Hill, @ 150 feet. There are six bunkers that were built by the Coast Guard in 1941 to watch the surrounding waters for German U-boats. Stripped of their observation equipment and weaponry at the end of World War II, the bunkers are a great place to picnic or take in the spectacular view of the island and its surrounding waters.
On our trek to the west end you follow one of the two to three roads on the island until it turns into a dirt path. Then follow or for another 1/2 mile or so and you will come across west end pond,the Gosnold monument and another one of the prettiest beaches you've ever seen. On one of our afternoon dingy rides around the harbor, we ventured out to the moorings and anchorages outside the breakwater. Here we ran into Passages, whom we had the pleasure of rafting up to in Wickford for a week. This jaunt also took us fairly close to Nashawena Island where we saw cows on the beach and in the water. Yup - COWS!!! Well, as Dennis says, this brought out the "JC" in me and I had to figure out what the deal was with these cows. Here are some fun facts discovered along the way about Nashawena Island;
Nashawena is the 2nd largest of the Elizabeth Islands, coming in at 3 miles long and just over 1800 acres, but least populated with the full time population being 2.
All of the Elizabeth Islands except for Cuttyhunk and Penikese are privately owned by the Forbes family of Boston, MA.
John Murray Forbes was part of the first generation Forbes who accumulated their wealth from trading between North America and China in the 19th century Opium wars; exporting opium, furs and other manufactured goods for the import of tea to be sold in the US & Britain. Notable Forbes family members include John Forbes Kerry.
In past years Nashawena was used for sheep farming, but many were killed when coyotes began invading the island (swimming from Woods Hole, MA, similar to the situation in Cuttyhunk, where small dogs and other animals are at risk).
Nashawena land use has been deemed agricultural by the MA state of representatives, therefore they pay little or no property taxes. Hmmmmm
The branch of the family who owns Nashawena now raises cattle (Scottish Highland cattle) to manage the vegetation - and apparently they love the beach.
We spent the evenings on the fly bridge admiring the stars. There is no ambient light here so this was the perfect place to watch the perseid meteor shower which was at it's peak the days we were here. We saw several shoot stars each night.
Day 152 - 187 / 1,895 Miles - Newport, Twin Lakes, Block Island, Boston & Tampa
Well these last 30 days have really been a whirlwind for us. After arriving in Newport, Dennis & John headed off to Twin Lakes - California for his annual "guys only" fishing trip. Becky was joined by Paula for a girls week in Newport. Then the 4 of us headed to Block Island for a few days of "Island adventure". And if this weren't enough fun to be had, we headed off to Boston the following weekend for a visit with Jess, Andrew and Devin. And... if this weren't enough fun, after our return from Boston, we headed back to Florida to celebrate Kevin, Laurie and Barbara's induction into the fabulous 50 club. Whew
Newport
Upon arrival in Newport, we spent a few days on a mooring ball in Newport Harbor. For such a busy harbor, the ball was pretty comfortable. We had a great view of all the boats coming and going from Newport and were treated to the L’Hermione, a French frigate, that was docked at Fort Adams for a few days, who upon arrival began exchanging fire with Fort Adams. (I'm so sad... I had a video of this exchange that seems to have gotten deleted)
Staying at Bannister's Wharf was perfect, centrally located in downtown Newport the GS was nestled amongst some very large vessels. They were "over the top" with amenities and some of them provided some very interesting people watching. Our first night at the marina proved very interesting. The boat in the video below is out of South Florida and is the weekend home to several young studs from Russia and their Untza Untza music.
By the end of the evening, our Russian friends had found themselves "dates" who, after being encouraged by dock security not to run the docks naked found themselves in the boat's hot tub discussing who was and was not going to "f#$k a russian"... You can't make this stuff up.
This New England town is far from "sleepy". If you can't find something to do here, you just aren't trying. "The Ladies" had a pretty amazing week in this little sailing town. Our days were full and adventurous; from touring the mansions, hiking, biking and swimming off the cliffs along Narragansett Bay. Each day ending with a sampling of the local cuisine and pubs including the now infamous Aerosmith Tribute Concert.
Narragansett Bay was our old boating waters when we lived in New England over 10 years ago, so we had visited Newport several times in our past. One of things that I enjoyed most about this visit to Newport is that we included some non touristy things in our days like finding swimming holes rather than traditional beaches as well as hiking and biking to our destinations rather than car or taxis. It allowed us to see and experience things that the normal visitor doesn't usually see or experience.
Block Island
July 20 - 24
We headed out to Block Island after "the boys" returned from their Twin Lakes trip. It was fairly foggy when we left Newport limiting our visibility a bit for our crossing of block Island Sound. Moorings are on a first come basis and we were pretty lucky to have one available upon our arrival. Our departure was pretty as several boats were circling waiting for us to drop our lines so they could pounce on the open ball we would leave. While on The Block, we spent a day wandering the town, checking things out, another floating off the back of the boat mixed in with a little work to free a fishing line from the shaft of the boat and the final day hiking to Mohegan Bluffs and the Southeast Lighthouse. Mohegan Bluffs are pretty spectacular cliffs with over 150 steps down to the ocean. Easy walk down, and you earned it on the way back to the top.
As usual a good time goes by completely too fast and before you knew it, it was time to leave. We spent the next week bopping around Narragansett, stopping in Warwick, Wickford and an unplanned weather delay stop in Newport.
Boston
July 31 to Aug 3
Hard to believe that we haven't seen the kids since they got married at the end of April. Much too long for this momma!!! So we took the train into Bean town and spent the weekend being uber tourists; Freedom Trail, Taking in a Red Sox game (yep they beat the Rays), going to the top of the Prudential Building and a Duck Boat Tour (Quack Quack). Throw in a bonus visit with Devin and you couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Again too short!
Florida
Aug 5 - 9
Happy Birthday shout out to Barbara, Laurie & Kevin who have all joined the nifty 50 club. So glad we were able to celebrate with y'all. Kevicakes - you were definitely missed and we will make it up to ya next time we see you.
