When we passed Watch Hill, the sun was getting low, but it was still light out and visibility was high. We could see Fishers Island about 2 miles off in the distance, along with the buoys that would guide us into Fishers Island Sound. But by the time the sun was setting and we were less than a half mile off the shore of Fishers, we suddenly couldn’t see much of anything. A thick grey fog had circles around us like a great wool sweater. Peering into the seascape before us was just like trying to see through the small fuzzy spaces in cable knit yarn. Are you kidding me?…
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Our Passage to Mystic River Part 1
It was just before 2pm and we were finally ready to set off on our final 15 nautical mile leg to Mystic. I was feeling prepared and organized when Joe offhandedly said: “You have one final test for today—visibility.” “Hunh? What?” I asked. He pointed to the thick fog that had just rolled across the horizon. Five minutes earlier you could see all the way across the Great Salt Pond and past the channel into Block Island Sound. Now you could barely see the other end of the pond! It seemed to be burning off, so we warily got underway. Luckily, the fogged rolled out almost as quickly as it…
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A Block Island Respite
“Looks like you got your main sail stuck.” Clif Payne greeted Joe at the dock on Wednesday morning. We had motored into the Great Salt Pond the night before with our main sail tied up in a strange square shape around the mast because it wouldn’t come down properly. After a short, but solid, night’s sleep, Joe had stepped off the boat in search of coffee for me and assistance for Cygnet’s various ailments. “You noticed that, hunh?” Joe replied cheekily to Clif’s statement. “I might need to find someone to send me up in a bosun’s chair to fix it, so my wife doesn’t have to hoist me up.”…
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Our Passage to Block Island Part 2
“I’m debating.” I said. “Debating what?” Joe asked. “Debating whether or not to do what you say, or insist we go into Point Judith.” Joe was still thinking that we would sail all night and ease into Mystic River with the sunrise; I was still unconvinced. It was dark and the stars were scattered above us in their beautiful cosmic pictographs. We were slicing through the water at a comfortable 4.5 knots, a few miles off the coast of Rhode Island, about halfway between Newport and Point Judith. Straight ahead were the buoys that could guide us into that Harbor of Refuge. I was a bit anxious and tired; but…
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Our Passage to Block Island Part 1
This might be a good time to point out a couple of things. One, there is a difference between day sailing for fun and doing a boat delivery. When you go out for a lovely pleasure sail, you check the winds and plan your course based on which way the winds will blow you comfortably. Joe and I were not pleasure sailing! We were on a boat delivery. (Like the couple in the movie Adrift. Not really a parallel I wanted to draw to our trip!) We had a specific timeline and destination and we did not have the luxury of planning our itinerary based on the wind and the…
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Black Dog Wharf and the Oil Leak
When traveling the high seas in a 64 year old boat, it is great if your sailing companion is not only a good captain, but an expert woodworker, engineer, and mechanic. Luckily, my husband is all of those things. He’s also very attentive to my coffee needs. Another bonus! After tying up at Black Dog Wharf, Joe topped off the fuel in the engine and then checked the oil. It didn’t register on the dipstick so he walked to the Shell station and got some oil to add to the engine. He had to add 6.5 quarts of oil which could only mean one thing. We were leaking some serious…
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Our Passage from Chatham to Vineyard Haven
Close your eyes and imagine all the romantic notions you have about sailing. Then take a big bucket of salt water and throw it in your face. Do that over and over again for about 6 hours. That was our passage from Chatham to Vineyard Haven. As any smart sailor does, we checked the tides in advance with the Eldridge guide and the wind on our SailFlow app. We knew we were in for a crappy ride, but we had a long leg planned for Monday (Vineyard Haven to Block Island) and that day the wind was going to be perfect. So we decided to go for it, figuring we…
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Provisions and Preparation
After a series of delays, we finally arrived last night at the Mill Pond in Chatham, Massachusetts around 6:00 pm (also known as 1800 hours.) The sun was just starting to set and it was nice to get to see one last sunset over the pond before our journey west. The first order of business was to get our luggage and supplies that we had brought from home out to the boat. Since our dingy is currently tied to the cabin top, Joe had to row us out to Cygnet in the FirstLight row boat. After nearly 8 hours in the car, I was worried about what that meant for…
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Anatomy of a Boat
The first thing you learn when entering the world of sailing, is that sailors have a whole different language than the rest of us. Things that have one name on land have a different name on a boat. For instance: you don’t go downstairs, you go below. It’s not a kitchen, it’s a galley. It’s not a bathroom, it’s a head. And never mind when you get into navigational jargon. More on that later. For now, let’s start with the basics—the anatomy of a boat. Bow: It’s not called the “front” of the boat, it’s called the bow. This is the end of the boat that faces into the wind…
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We Have a Sailboat
We have a sailboat. Often times when I tell people this, they look at me and say “Oh? Do you sail?” I respond: “I have sailed. Like… I’ve been on a sailboat while it’s sailing. But, no, I have no idea how to sail a boat. My husband is the sailor. But he’s going to teach the rest of us.” I’ve been saying this for four and a half years. Over the past four and a half years, I have slept on the boat, eaten on the boat, argued with and amused my kids on the boat. I have worked on the boat—in the sense that I have done manual…
