by Judy Handley | Oct 21, 2005 | Sailing Logs Year 1, US - Boston to Norfolk |
Day 4, Year 1: Passage from Cape Cod to Delaware Bay—Migration
Date: Friday, October 21, 2005
Weather: Total Cloud Cover, Sprinkles; Upper 50’s; Winds NE 5-10 knots
Location: Offshore New York to Offshore New Jersey
The weather today was consistent-temperature in the upper 50’s, total cloud cover, and occasional sprinkles. For most of the day our barometer said that it was sunny. We’ll have to get that barometer checked out! The winds have been 5 to 10 from the northeast which is directly behind us, so we have been motoring most of the day. The winds are starting to pick up late this afternoon, and we are hoping to be able to sail, probably wing and wing, through the night. If you are not a sailor, wing and wing simply means that the main sail is out to one side and the head sail is out to the other, in order to catch as much of the wind from behind as possible. We could have put out the spinnaker but decided against it because of the rain. Motoring means that we have to check and fill the fluid in the leaking v-drive gear box every hour. We know we have a leak but we cannot find it. We have decided to get the boat to Annapolis on Monday and have someone take a look. But hopefully our make-shift maintenance will get us to there. We will overnight again tonight and should arrive in the Delaware Bay sometime tomorrow morning and head straight for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. If we make it that far, we will spend the night in Chesapeake City in the C & D tomorrow night and head for the Magothy River near Annapolis for Sunday evening. My nephew, Tommy Martin, and his wife, Marilou and five children live there and we will take this chance to visit.
Now for the amazing part of the day today . . . Early in the morning I was on watch and a little bird flew into the cockpit to say good morning. This little bird had a red splotch on his head. Then more birds came. They looked the same but had yellow and orange defined spots on their heads. I went below to find my Audubon Guide to Birds of North America, but then remembered that I had decided to put it in storage since most of our planned trip is not in North America. Bad decision. Anyway, I have a book that generally describes birds of the world, but it has been difficult trying to identify the bird life we have seen today. I have never seen so many different kinds of birds in one day in my life. Almost all were land birds that must be migrating south and hitching a ride. I was able to get pictures of some, but not all. The bird with the red splotch on his head was definitely a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet and the ones with yellow and orange spots on their heads were Golden-Crowned Kinglets. But this was just the beginning. There were lots of Dark-Eyed Juncos, both male and female, American Tree Sparrows, Red-Eyed Vireos, House Wrens, a beautiful Northern Flicker that rode on our bow pulpit for over an hour, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and I’m not sure what else. The kinglets were not afraid of anything and flew all through the cockpit, down into the main cabin, sat on my head and shoulder for quite a long period of time, and have stayed with us all day. They don’t sit still for long, but they have obviously adopted us. As a first grade teacher, we always did a unit on backyard birds in early winter. Today, I had my first introduction to “boat yard” migrating birds. The display of colors has been amazing and the range in size of the birds has been interesting. All of the birds were very small except for the Red-Winged Blackbirds and Northern Flickers. The only water birds I saw today were one tern and one flock of migrating ducks. When we reach land, we will post the pictures we were able to get. They do not convey the fantastic array of color and kind, but they will give you some idea of what it was like. What a wonderful diversion from the not so pretty weather today.
It is 5:00 pm, and the day is far from over, but I learned my lesson yesterday about waiting until later in the evening to post the log. Once dark descends, the sleeping shifts begin and posting logs is not the priority. I think 5:00 pm will be my posting time. Now it’s time to fix dinner and get ready for the night watches. Until tomorrow . . .
by Judy Handley | Oct 20, 2005 | Sailing Logs Year 1, US - Boston to Norfolk |
Day 3, Year 1: Passage from Cape Cod to Delaware Bay—Transmission Troubles
Date and Time: Thursday, October 20, 2005, 1900 EDT
Weather: Sunny Morning, Partly Cloudy Afternoon, Cloudy Evening
Location: Offshore New Jersey
We left Quissett Harbor on Cape Cod at 7:00 am this morning and will continue sailing through the night. We are currently just off Montauk on the tip of Long Island in New York. Judy is getting ready to tuck in for her first 2 hour sleep of the night. Judy will then go on watch at 9:30 pm and hope to make it until 12:30 am when Mark will take over. We continue the 2-3 hour watches through the night. But now back to the beginning of the day . . .
When we left Quissett at day break this morning, the air and water temperature were both the same-62.4 degrees. The day warmed to 70 degrees, but the water temperature has remained the same. The waning moon was high in the sky this morning and didn’t set until mid-day. The sunny morning turned into a partly cloudy afternoon and daylight ended with a very strange dark sky evening. Albeit, there were some red sails in the dark clouds. As we sailed out of Buzzard’s Bay this morning, we realized that we were saying goodbye to New England for now. We took pictures of the Knob where our daughter, Heather, and her now husband, Jed, were engaged. As we passed Woods Hole, Hadley Harbor, Naushon Island, Quicks Hole, Cuttyhunk, and finally the Buzzard’s Bay light, we looked back and took our last pictures of home. For the next couple of years, home will be wherever we are, but our hearts will always be with our friends and family.
The winds today have fluctuated all over the place. The winds were 12-18 knots as we headed south. We started with a double reefed main, but had the head sail all the way out. The winds built to 18-24 knots by the time were half way to the Buzzard’s Bay light, so we double reefed both the main and the head sail. But by the time we reached the Buzzard’s Bay light, the winds were back down to 12-18, so we took out the reefs and sloshed along with a north wind at our backs. By 1:20 this afternoon we were in sight of Block Island and the winds dropped to 3-10 knots. We started the motor and then the fun began. After a half hour or so of running the motor, there was a burning smell. After much searching, Mark discovered some smoke coming from a particular cap on the transmission casing. He had just filled the transmission fluid yesterday, but what he discovered was a separate compartment that was completely dry. We made calls and added the right transmission fluid, but we think we might have damaged the transmission to a point that it might go at any time. Therefore, the 15 winds tonight are very welcomed. We are heading south at a speed of 7-8 knots. The winds are supposed to die down during the night, but then build again tomorrow. When the winds die, we will make a decision as to whether we will risk starting the engine. At that time, we will have to make a decision about where to enter the Chesapeake Bay since we cannot count on having the transmission.
Going into our first overnight of the voyage, the transmission troubles are not what we had hoped for, but we will figure it out. Hope tomorrow brings fair winds and no engine troubles!
Note added on Friday morning, October 21: Since we didn’t get a chance to post this yesterday, we thought we should give you a transmission update. During the night, the winds did go down to 3 knots and we made the decision to try the transmission. So far, success! The knocking sound we heard yesterday is no longer there. We are hoping the transmission fluid we added has taken care of the problem and that we caught it in time to prevent major damage. We will continue as planned and enter the Delaware Bay just south of Cape May, New Jersey, either tonight or early in the morning. We will take the boat to Annapolis and have the transmission checked there. The log for today will be posted this evening.
by Judy Handley | Oct 19, 2005 | Sailing Logs Year 1, US - Boston to Norfolk |
Day 2, Year 1: Stay Over in Quissett Harbor
Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Weather: Strong Winds from the South
Location: Quissett Harbor (Cape Cod), Massachusetts–USA
It is evening and here we still sit in the Quissett Harbor on the Cape. The winds are strong and from the wrong direction, so we decided to sit it out today and leave for Cape May, New Jersey, early in the morning. Hurricane Wilma is trying to complicate things as well, but if we leave here tomorrow morning we will reach the Chesapeake Bay well before Wilma. We can find a safe haven there and wait for any effects of this hurricane to pass.
Today was spent cataloging and storing away items that had not been dealt with before leaving Boston. Finding just the right place for all of the different food supplies is quite challenging, but we made great headway today. In fact, the only things left to do are to go through all of the cards and gifts we received in the past couple of weeks and send loads of thank you’s to so many friends. If the weather permits, we will get to go through those things tomorrow and will finally feel like we are ready to embark on this voyage.
The other thing that took a great deal of our day today was pouring through the weather reports trying to figure out when, where, and how to head south. The weather definitely dictates our travels and learning to read the various reports is most challenging. Now we know why the weather people often get it wrong. Things change from hour to hour and not all reports give you the same information. If we have it right, we will reach Chesapeake City in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on Saturday evening. That will probably be the next time that we will send a travel log. Until then . . .
by Judy Handley | Oct 18, 2005 | Sailing Logs Year 1, US - Boston to Norfolk |
Day 1, Year 1: Leaving Boston
Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Weather: Winds Building, Gusts to 25 knots
Location: Quissett Harbor (Cape Cod), Massachusetts
We left Shipyard Quarters, the marina, where we have lived aboard Windbird for the past two years, at 5:05 AM today. This is the first day of our sailing adventure. Kevin and Claire, a young couple who live aboard “just down the street”, came to help us cast off. Taking that final line from Claire was tough. This was it. No more ties to land. We were finally on our way, leaving behind wonderful friends and family that we love very much. But there are horizons out there to be explored and the time had come for us to begin our new journey. If you are reading this, we hope you will enjoy sharing the journey with us.
Sunrise this morning was at 7:03 AM, so our first two hours coming out of the Boston Harbor were in the dark. We know the harbor well, but everything looks different before the first light of dawn. There were white spots in the water. What were they? Were they lobster buoys? Once they began to fly in front of us, I realized that they were seagulls that we were waking. Long Island, a favorite anchorage of ours, was all lit up. In daylight, you see no buildings as you pass, but in the dark, it looked very different. We finally made the turn and headed out of the harbor into the sea. There were red sails on the horizon which we all know means that sailors take warning. What would the day bring?
Day One turned out to be very interesting. As we headed out to sea, a little wren decided to hitch a ride. She stayed with us for quite a while and was the only wild life we saw for the rest of the day. Even when she tried to fly away, the winds turned her back. We were immediately sailing in 10-12 knot winds, and then 6-7 knot winds, and as we approached the Cape Cod Bay, the winds built to 12-17 knots with 20-25 knot gusts. This was the shake-down part of the cruise. Anything and everything in the boat that could move, did so. Things that I thought I had carefully tucked away were flying across the cabin. Nothing broke and no one was hurt, but it was obvious that we needed to find new homes for a few things. We started listening more carefully to the weather report and found that the night would bring 35 knot gusts. We started to wonder if we should find a safe haven for the night and continue our journey in the morning.
We went through the Cape Cod Canal with no problem and our confidence grew. We thought maybe the radio weather report was a little exaggerated. However, when we came out of the canal, the tide was with us but the winds were on our nose. We bobbed up and down and even more things shook loose in the cabin. Mark received our weather faxes for the day and they confirmed the high winds with gusts to 35 during the night. That made the decision. We headed for Quissett Harbor on the east side of Buzzards Bay, called our daughter Heather and her husband Jed, and had them come join us for dinner. We were a bit wind blown, but all was safe and we have had a great evening.
The winds are picking up as I sit here writing this log. It will still be windy out there tomorrow, but at least we will have the light of day to guide us. We hope to head straight for Cape May, New Jersey tomorrow and should arrive sometime late on Thursday or Friday. We’ll send another travel log once we arrive there. Stay tuned.
by Judy Handley | Sep 4, 2005 | Sailing Logs Year 1, US - Boston to Norfolk |
Justin came to visit us over the Labor Day weekend and we finally got the website wrapped up.
