Maine

Although the weather forecast kept talking of weak disturbances coming though, I ended up having a gorgeous week in Gloucester.  I kept myself busy with chores on the boat and trips to shore and before I knew it, it was Friday and Jason was joining the crew of Pegasus.

We left the next morning when the tide was favourable to get through the Cape Ann Canal and headed north to the coast of Maine.  We had a nice day with a 10 to 15 knot wind in the back.  We motor sailed though so that we would make it to Wood Island Harbour about 60 miles away.  The next day had even less wind so we motored on to Boothbay harbour.  We first moored to the town landing for a short visit to shore.  Then we went over to Linekine bay to anchor for the night.  We made it there just before we got a light rain.  The next day was back to sunshine as we made our way to Rockland where we caught up with the Canadian yacht I had met in Onset.  Jason and I had a nice seafood supper at a local diner then we went to listen to some live blues at a local bar.  That was the last nice weather day for a while though.

The next morning, we went to eat breakfast at the diner again before checking out the local marine store.  By the time we headed out, there was a light drizzle and a 10 knot breeze from the east.  Right in our nose.  We anchored in a very sheltered cove in Vinelhaven and had a relaxed afternoon with the help of a bottle of Sailor Jerry spiced rum.  The next day the wind was more like 15 to 20 knots in the nose and we had to tack our way to Stonington where we fuel up.  There the starter on Pegasus decided to act up again.  For a few weeks, there had been an intermittent electrical problem and the starter just wouldn't kick over.  In Stonington, it just wouldn't work at all.  In the end Jason had to jump start it with a pair of pliers.  

We then headed to WoodenBoat School in Brooklyn Maine where we anchored for the night.  The next morning I went to say hello to Greg Rossell who was teaching the Boat Building Fundamentals class.  I had taken Greg's class a few years ago and had brought home one of the whitehalls that we were building.  I showed Greg and his class the pictures of the completed boat.  That day, we still had overcast skies and fog but the wind had calmed down.  We left Eggomoggin Reach and headed off to Winter harbour.  The yacht club there was still all shut down for the winter so we spend a quiet night at a mooring.  The next day was pouring rain with a south east wind that made it very hard to see the lobster pots.  After first trying to head on east, we decided to turn around and head to Bar Harbour instead of fighting the weather all day.  So, instead of spending Friday night in the middle of nowhere, we had a good seafood supper in town and Jason got to do some shopping for gifts for the family.  

It cleared up nicely the next day and it was in flat calm seas the we made it to the beautiful Roque Island harbour.  That evening, Jason showed me some pictures of the sailboat of one of his customer.    He said that was the boat he would like to buy some day.  The next morning we headed out along with an other boat that had anchored on the other side of the harbour.  As we got closer to the other boat, we realized that it was the boat the Jason had shown me the pictures.  What a coincidence!  We were both headed back to Saint Andrews and got to chat with them.  It turns out that I knew one of the crew too!

We arrived in Saint Andrews on Sunday June 14th just before 5 pm.  That was the end of a nearly 5000 miles journey along the North American eastern seaboard over a period of eight months.  Now it's time to get back to real life... at least for a while. 

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Solo New York to Gloucester

I left New York's 79th St. Boat Basin on Saturday May 20th in the Morning to get a favourable tide back down the Hudson River.  It was my first time soloing Pegasus and I had put Luna on the davits the night before. I figured that it was easier for me to get Luna on the davits alone rather than on deck.  It was a nice sunny day when I anchored behind the Statue of Liberty for lunch to wait for the tide to turn in Hell Gate so I could go through the East River to Long Island Sound. By the end of the day, it had clouded over and there was a strong easterly wind in my nose when I entered Long Island Sound.  I decided to Anchor behind City Island for the night where I was warmly greeted by fellow boaters on a neighbouring  yacht.  It turns out the lady was originally from Cap Breton Island.  We had a pleasant conversation and they told me of what was available on City Island and even offered me a ride in their dingy.  It had been a long day for me so I decided to turn in early instead.

In the morning, the sun was out again and I had a beautiful but almost windless day to start my journey up Long Island sound.  I stopped at the Norwalk Islands and anchored next to the lighthouse.  Once again, I got warmly greeted by fellow boaters.  It was a local couple who were starting out on a beautiful 70 feet Swan that they had been fixing for the last few years.  They are hoping to go off for an extended cruise and had many questions on how our trip had been.  Later, the guardian of the lighthouse also dropped by to greet me and said to let him know if I needed anything.  Once again, it was a very friendly place.

Memorial day was another beautiful day on the water with pleasure crafts of all types covering Long Island Sound.  As one dismayed tug skipper said to an other on the radio, 'be careful, the kamikaze are out!'  I had a very good day motor sailing in light breeze on the stay sail and far from the shipping lanes.  I managed to cover the rest of Long Island Sound that day and anchored at Fisher Island.  I also stayed there on the 23rd to wait out for favourable winds for Block Island Sound.  I didn't quit get them.  I still got 15 knot winds in the nose when I did the short hop though Block Island Sound over to Newport.  I almost decided to stop in Point Judith but then decided to push on since the next couple of days weren't going to be any better.  The engine's fuel pump had stated to have a slight leak and I needed to replace it.  I wanted to get to Newport because I knew there was a Yanmar dealer there.  It turns out, we had four days of fog and rain so I stayed in Newport till Saturday May 30th.  That gave me time to get a new fuel pump, change it, and do my last oil and filter change on the engine for the trip.  Somehow, it made me feel much closer to home to know that the last scheduled  maintenance was done with!

I had noticed some stress cracks appear on the davits after the waves I had gone through off Judith Point on my way into Newport so I decided to put Luna back on deck for the next leg.  It tuns out I got Luna up there fine on my own also.  It even went a little easier than on the davits. I had a beautiful flat day out of Newport to get passed Sakonnet Point.  What a change from last fall when we had head winds and 8 foot waves there!  By the time I got to Buzzards bay, it was a perfect sailing day.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable raising the main sail up alone so I decided to motor sail with the stay sail instead.  I made it to the entrance of Cape Cod Canal and decided to pick up a mooring from Onset Marina for the night.  There was an other Canadian flagged sail boat anchored nearby and I got to meet them.  They were from Fredericton and were also heading home.  We would meet up regularly for the rest of the trip.

The favourable tide through the canal started at 10 am the next day and that was when I headed out.  I didn't want to wait too long because the forecast for the afternoon was for increasing winds and thunderstorms.  That is exactly what we got.  Luckily the wind was in the back and was pushing me north.  As I got closer to Scituate, where I was planning to spend the night, the winds got to over 25 knots. I had to take the wheel as the auto pilot was starting to get overwhelmed by the following seas.  Scituate harbour is very nice and protected though and I was glad to pick up a mooring there just before the thunder clouds came rolling by.  The mooring fee includes a shuttle service to shore so I was able to go take a shower at the harbour master's office as well as do groceries.  As it turns out, the thunder storms missed Scituate that day but I still got a nice picture of the rainbow at sunset.

The next day, June 1st, I had a perfect day to continue my trip.  Once, I got past the Boston Harbour shipping lanes, I shut down the engine and sailed to the Gloucester harbour entrance with both head sails.  I decided to wait for my friend Jason there.  We would face the Maine lobster traps together.