This log gives you the most recent entry first. Past entries are available as you scroll down.

July 16 – 19 Rockland Harbor ME

The sail from Seguin Island was navigationally difficult. Heavy fog and light winds required motor sailing. We started in the heavy fog; it tried clear mid-day but quickly came back denser than in the morning. We find cruisers here typically have AIS but not always. Lobster fisherman and smaller boats do not have AIS. So, radar was the primary collision prevention navigational tool. Our new Rader can identify targets and “acquire” them on the radar which gives the ability to track multiple targets and their movement. That really helps. And then there are others, like one sailboat who popped up on radar less than a tenth of a mile which I rapidly changed course to avoid. This tells me that boat had no reasonable radar detector. Do we? Better check. That other boat was a monohull. Th captain was steering from the helm which I doubt had radar. I’m convinced he never saw me till I sounded my foghorn and changed course for avoidance. It was a tense (7) hour motor sail. We anchored on Owls Head cove, a commercial lobster port (5) miles or so from Rockland in dense fog. Note-These are the richest lobster fishing grounds in the world.

We spent (2) nights at the dock. First dock we’ve been tied to in a couple of months. We sorely needed to wash the boat and manage some laundry and provisions. While we’re at it we enjoyed some nice meals on land. Primo was fabulous with a top notch restaurant, (2) on-site green houses, some 200 chickens, pigs and more. Literally farm to table next door.

The boat is all cleaned up, new radar reflector installed, fuel and water. BTW, we are having issues with making water. The water in Maine is not good for making water. We clog filters very quickly and we are having a hard time getting more. No one has them and package delivery has been a total failure. We pay for nest day service and packages come in 3-4 days. By then we’re already gone.Fuel – 52 gallons

Maintenance – Seal Drive water intrusion alarm sounded. The sensor was corroded. Cleaned and alarm cleared. It’s happened before.

July 15, 2023 – Seguin Island, ME

Only 16 miles or so from Jewell Island is Seguin Island. Seguin has a very small cove where anchoring is not allowed. Instead, you can take a mooring ball free of charge if there is one of the only (5) available plus a CG moor. It was tight for us, and the only had available mooring balls were those closest to the shore. Those were very close to the rocks and to one another. The anchorage cleared out, so we took (2) mooring balls on the bow and stern and it worked well for us. God thing because we would likely have been on the beach with just one mooring ball.

We hiked the island and visited the tallest lighthouse in Maine that still operates a constant light with a first order Fresnel lens (the largest Fresnel lens). The lighthouse and grounds are well maintained by caretakers who live on the property.

July 13, 2023 – Jewell Island, ME

This was truly a Jewell. Beautiful island with rich history, a great anchorage, and green woodlands. The anchorage is well protected but somewhat small. We had no issue finding a spot, but we hear weekends can be crowded. Only 3-4 other boats when we arrived so anchoring was no problem. We hiked the island and found it to be beautiful and historically fascinating. The WWII relics were amazing to see. There were (2) 6″ mortar shell guns and a bunker between them in WWII. Tall towers with multi-level telescopes to spot U-boats. There were some 400 men on this tiny island looking for U-boats. If they spotted one, they would tell the nearby island with the same telescopes and then triangulate the U-boat position and give the coordinates to the guns to fire on them. Apparently, no U-boats were ever seen and there is question whether the guns were ever fired, even for practice.

Special thanks for information from Charlie the caretaker of Jewell Island for Maine Island Trail Association.

July 8, 2023 WE SAIL TO MAINE

We sailed from Nantucket to Cape Elizabeth, Maine and hiked Richmond Island

Nantucket

Very good inlet but strong tidal currents to get in. The mooring field is full of mostly local boats. This is where people keep their boats because there’s nowhere on land to keep them, little access to boat launches and sparse marina facilties. Numerous very large motor yachts (100’ or more” were Med tied to the Marina. The only available anchorage is small due to depth and in the middle of the current and the path to the Coskata-Coatue wildlife refuge. We became part of the tour of charter and pleasure boats transited to the refuge. Very strong currents in the anchorage so dinghy deployment is best done on the tide change. Nantucket was the nicest New England town we saw in these islands. Very rich in history and beauty. The homes, streets and grounds were beautiful and upper class. We saw people in sport coats, slacks, and dresses in the evenings even on their boats.

July 5-8 Martha’s Vineyard-Chappaquiddick

We stopped in Vineyard Harbor for (2) nights each. Got some laundry done, provisioning and some restaurants including the famous Black Dog café and tavern. Vineyard harbor is the higher population with lots of commercial business and provisioning available. Very busy harbor with multiple ferries a day and night. Edgartown is also busy but more quaint and very New England atmosphere. We had a nice tour of the town, rented bikes to for touring the town and provisioning. We rode to Chappaquiddick to see the island, go to the beach and of course to visit the Dike Bridge, THE BRIDGE. They have new guard rails on the bridge.

July 4 – Menemsha

Our first anchor was Menemsha, and the weather was great to anchor outside of the harbor. Good thing because there’s about (3) mooring balls and really no anchorage inside the harbor. It’s a very small harbor. Think the “ORCA” fishing vessel as it heads out of the harbor in the movie Jaws. Because that’s where the scene was filmed. We stayed just outside the jetties for (2) nights and very much enjoyed Menemsha. We toured the town, had lobster rolls, and bought the best swordfish and harpooned Big Eye tuna from the local market. One day we dinghied through Menemsha pond, watched the oyster farmers in the fog and landed on the beach at the far end of the pond. We moored the dinghy and walked to the road where we hitchhiked to and from the Gay Head lighthouse to tour the lighthouse and the grounds. Yes, we hitchhike regularly to get where we want to be. A couple of women and tad older than us picked up on the ay and a woman with (3) small kids picked us up on the way back. Not sure what her husband had to say about that because surely the kids mentioned it to Dad. “Dad mom picked up some boat people that were hitchhiking on our way home today”.

July 3 – WE SAIL FROM Cape May to Martha’s Vineyard

We had a good sail for this 36-hour transit albeit a bit rough. We had following seas, but they were in the 8-10’ range and short dominate period. We sailed fast with the parasailor but by evening the wind was too strong for that sail through the night. So, we doused the parasailer and went on the main and genoa. Not very comfortable but safe. Note when we had the parasailer, we saw up to 23 knots TWS and were making 10-11 knots SOG. Very fast. We slowed in the sail change but wanted to be safe. By morning we lost wind velocity, speed, and direction. We were originally heading to Nantucket to make the trip east to west, Nantucket to Newport. But with the change in wind, we changed direction to Marth’s Vineyard. This would dramatically change our overall trip plans since we’re now going west to east, Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket.

July 2 – Cape May, NJ

We made the stop in Cape May before we transited direct to Marth’s Vineyard (36 hours). We anchored in front of the Coast Guard Station. Luckily there was not a lot of boats there because it is a small anchorage with heavy pleasure boat traffic in the channel right by the anchorage. Cape May is a go-to beach resort and cottage area for NJ. Very busy, very touristy if that’s your ting. We left at daybreak the next morning because it wasn’t or favorite stop-over. I’m sure you’re getting the drift that we like the secluded quiet anchorages.

July 2, 2023     C&D Canal – Delaware Bay

We left Annapolis headed to Cape May, NJ before the jump to Martha’s Vineyard. We were going to stay at Chesapeake City, but we were making good time and the Delaware Bay tide was in our favor, so we transited the canal and made it half way down the Delaware Bay to anchor in Cohansey Creek for the night. Cohansey Creek was a beautiful, secluded marsh anchorage well protected from the winds. Strong tides but good holding. It’s a great place to lay over if you’re transiting the bay. Up the creek is Greenwich, NJ and a marina and restaurant called The Bait Box. Very local eatery and bar with indoor and outdoor seating, live music, and a local scene. Great menu and cocktails. A must stop if you layover in Cohansey river.

July 1, 2023

It’s been a while since an update so there is lots to tell. We spent almost a week in Annapolis. Waited on some UPS packages which UPS screwed up and we got only one and it was late. Getting packages is tough. In the meantime, we toured Annapolis as previously mentioned and enjoyed the Naval Academy. The rest of Annapolis was just not our cup of tea. It’s busy, touristy, and frankly dirty. Kind of reminded me of Bourbon Street, New Orleans. While we awaited packages, we sailed to Kent Island and back to Harness Creek in the South River. No doubt this was our favorite place in the area. Beautiful creek on a county park full of trails and easy access to Annapolis. Note West Marine is just 2 miles or less from the anchorage.

Week 25, June 25, 2023 – Annapolis

We left Solomons Islands with a plan to go halfway to Annapolis since the wind was forecast to be to close hauled for us to sail very well. Once in the bay we found the boat performed well at 45-50 degrees of apparent wind with no seas. So we easily made Annapolis by day’s end and had a great sail all the way. Annapolis is one of the east coast main sailing ports. The town itself is a nice stop, a bit touristy, but nice restaurants and bars. The weekends get a bit crowded with lots of inland folks coming to enjoy the town. We took a mooring ball with the Annapolis Harbormaster at $25/day. That gets you baths, laundry and a means for mail and package receipt. We handled a few errands and found a great boat supply place at Bacon Sails and Marine. They are a secondhand shop with a large array of sailing gear at used, discounted prices. We picked up some block and tackle we needed for a great price and were able to procure some odd, hard to get parts for our Barbour-hauler. We toured the Naval Academy and that was a treat. We may go back to have lunch at the Officers Club another day. Annapolis is a busy city environment with moors very close to one another. A few days is all we need here.

Maintenance and Repairs – Added block and tackle and repaired.

Week 24, June 19, 2023

Mid-week we left Hampton for Mathews, VA. Matthews was a quiet anchorage with a few boats there awaiting haul-out at Zimmerman Marine. Zimmerman has become a popular haul out for catamarans. They pull the catamarans out of the water with a truck and trailer on a boat ramp. We visited the yard and there were at least 60 catamarans there from all manufacturers. Many are there for work, some for storage while their owners return home and come back later for another departure.

We wanted to visit town but could not get there for the tide. The water was too low even for our dinghy. As we headed back to the boat, we stopped to ask some folks on their dock how far it was into town thinking maybe we could beach the dinghy and walks. They invited us to tie up on there dock. They had just had lunch and offered us lunch as well. We chatted for a while and then they offered us their car to go to town. How kind people can be. Tom, Ally and their kids, Helen, Sammy, and Charlotte were too kind. We hope to see them some day in our travels.

We left Mathews and sailed to Deltaville, VA. We found Deltaville to be a very nice stop. It’s a nice, less crowded anchorage in Fishing Bay with a close by Marina and dinghy dock. For $25/day you can get a pass for the marina amenities if you’re on anchor. They have baths, coin laundry and a swimming pool. The Deltaville Yacht Club host sailing camps for kids so we got to watch the young sailors learn the ropes while we were on anchor. Our friend Grace Parker made a visit for a day. We really enjoyed having her bubbly, positive personality on board.

When we left Deltaville we made an overnight stop in Reedville, VA. We had a great, fast sail to Reedville. Reedville is a small fishing village with one substantial attribute. The Menhaden industry. Omega Proteins has a plant there to process menhaden. Menhaden are a schooling baitfish that are harvested for animal feed, food additives and omega fish oils. Very large ships with smaller net boats go to the mouth of the Chesapeake to net the menhaden and bring them back processing. Careful where you anchor in Reedville. You don’t want to be downwind of the fish oil processing plant.

We stayed on night in Reedville and left for Solomons Islands the next morning. Another terrific and fast sail up the bay and right into Solomons Islands. We got in late in the day and anchored in Back Creek. We managed a quick shore stop at Captain Smiths Seafood so I could pick up some soft-shell blue crabs. Man, I love ‘em. Otherwise, we’ve stayed on anchor and watched the wind and rain for 24 hours. Winds blew at steady 20-25 with 30 knot gust They continue out of the northeast, so we’ll lay another day and await a southerly wind to sail to Annapolis.

Maintenance and Repairs – Nothing but a boat wash in the rain (free fresh water)

FUEL – 40 gallons

Week 24, June 12, 2023

We sailed 34 hours from Cape Lookout to Hampton Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay. It was in the wind getting out of the Cape Lookout Bight and around the tip of the Cape. Once we made the turn we had good wind to get around Hatteras. When we turned from Hatteras to head to the Bay we were in the wind shadow from land and eventually has to motor sail through much of the night. Once daylight broke the wind came up and we hoisted full sails to sail into the Bay. Across the Bay and through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was a lot of freighter ship traffic. No problem staying out of the main channel and giving them plenty of berth. We sailed into Hampton Roads and anchored in Mill Creek at Phoebus. Phoebus is a small town with a short downtown street with local restaurants, bars and shops. There’s a post office and grocer for provisions. We stayed at the anchorage for (2) nights and spent a day visiting the Newport News Maritime Museum and picking up supplies. The museum is a must see with 90,000 square feet of displays. Detailed exhibits about the advent of the iron clad warships with the building of the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (formerly the Merrimack). These two warships clashed in the first battle of iron clad ships and would shape the future of Navy war ships. Many of those warships were and still are built at the Newport News Shipbuilding facility including battleships, aircraft carries and submarines.

Week 23, June 5, 2023 – Cape Lookout Bight

We anchored and stayed in Cape lookout Bight for the week. Partly to enjoy the area and to wait for the weather window for the trip around Cape Hatteras, The Outer Banks of NC and into Chesapeake Bay. The weather was great but the window would not be in our favor until Monday, June 11. Cape Lookout bight is a unique and remote area. The Bight is a pond like inlet in a break in Shackleford Banks. A hurricane made the break in Shackleford banks where the tidal waters go through from the Beaufort side to the bay side where Harker’s Island stands.

The Cape boast a beautiful lighthouse built in 1859. At 163 feet the Fresnel lens of this light house could project 18 miles out to sea warning mariners of the treacherous shoals of Cape Lookout.

The tip of Cape Lookout, past the Bight, can be accessed by ferry from Harker’s Island and Beaufort. Cars and Campers can be ferried to the Cape where people enjoy the beaches, fishing, camping and the remote atmosphere of the unique Cape. We walked to the tip of the Cape. Beautiful ocean waves, beaches and shells were a highlight on the walk. There’s a long section where cars and camper are not permitted, and we saw no other people on our walk.

Repairs and Maintenance – I got the water maker de-pickled and working. We successfully made water and the unit runs fine. But it wasn’t long till the filters were contaminated and needed replacement. I have replaced them and will await clean blue water before we make water again.

Week 22, May 29, 2023

Pilar set sail from Charleston, SC for Beaufort, NC. A gale had just blown through for the last (3) days with winds of 30 – 45 kts and sea offshore 14-25’. In fact, a cruise ship bound for Charleston had windows of the lower deck blown out. They took on lots of water and had substantial damage in the cabins and lower decks. No one was hurt in the incident. Luckily, by the time we set sail in the evening of May 29 the seas were very comfortable in a following set with true wind speeds of 20 kts. We had a very comfortable sail through the night, but the winds began to subside in the early hours of the next day. Finally, with 70 some miles to go we had to crank one motor for forward assist and finally the second later in the day. By mid-day the seas were flat calm with winds of only 3-5 kts. So, we motored the rest of the way into Beaufort arriving by 5:00am about 36 hours from our departure from Charleston just as we had planned.

Not wanting to come in the inlet in the dark, and quite tired from our watched we decided to anchor just outside the inlet, rest and come in later in the morning. Within minutes we were surrounded by sportfishing boats leaving the harbor for the fish day. You’ll remember it was calm seas so apparently every boat in Beaufort fished that day. We couldn’t stay at anchor in the wakes of those boats, so we quickly pulled anchor and made our way to the Beaufort anchorage in Taylor Creek just across from town.

We’ve spent a few days enjoying Beaufort, visiting my old friend Scott Hall from Islamorada, and doing some boat projects and repairs.

Repairs and Maintenance – Once anchored and reviewing the boat I found the topping lift had chaffed in (2) places and was done for duty. Just before we raised the mainsail had taken down the US flag that was flying on the topping lift and re-secured the topping lift in its cleat. Apparently, I left it too tight, and it seems the chaff came from the battens on the mainsail. I mistake from which I learned.

I also upgraded our saltwater head pump in the starboard hull. The pump was very slow and took forever to get enough water for a flush. I replaced the PAR 4, 3.8 gpm pump with a PAR 6, 6 gpm pump. The head filled in 1:46 minutes with the PAR 4, 20 seconds with the PAR 6. I later found the diaphragms in the PAR for were broken. So, I’ve ordered repair kits for the (3) Par 4’s on board and will do those repairs upon arrival of the kits. But we’re keeping the PAR 6 in the starboard hull.

Next week we plan to anchor in the Cape Lookout Bight for a few days while we await weather conducive to sail around Hatteras and into the Chesapeake Bay.

Next week we’ll sail from Cape Lookout around Hatteras to the Chesapeake Bay.

Weeks 20-21 – April 2023 – Johns Island, SC

We have spent the last few weeks getting our Charlotte home sold, closed and moved. Everything is in storage on John’s Island, SC while we await the completion of our remodel on the RiverMarsh II home at Kiawah River Estates. During this time, we’ll do prep work on the boat for the trips ahead. Present plan is to leave end of May and head to the Northeast hopping coastal ports along the way. We have the pleasure of time now, so we’ll pick our weather for good trips and good fishing.

Major Project – We had what we thought was rust stains leaking down the coach roof from the starboard Genoa sheet track. Seemed there was water and subsequent rust that was hard to remove. Next big rain we found water leaking from the Port Genoa track and rather substantial. So, we pulled the ceiling covers out and removed some screws where the leak was coming from.

Unfortunately, we found major water leaks from the genoa track through the coach roof and into the balsa between the fiberglass. With the revelation we decided to perform a major overhaul of both Genoa tracks. This became a (5) day project as follows:

• Remove Genoa tracks and rout out all wet balsa on each of the 13 holes for each track. This was (2) days of routing, vacuuming and drying. Good sunny days helped us.
• Final drying included syringe injection of Acetone to pull in existing water out of the balsa. Final drying was excellent.
• Next was a fill of each hole and balsa void with West Systems 105 resin and 209 slow hardener. We filled the epoxy solution with West Systems 406 Colloidal Silica, so the epoxy is more flexible and less likely to crack. These voids took a lot of the epoxy solution, about 35 ounces in all. NOTE-It was much easier to insert the epoxy solution with the West System caulk gun applicator tube which we poured our solution into for dispensing.
• After (2) days of epoxy drying and hardening we drilled out the holes for the Genoa track bolts. We routed out each hole with a counter sink bit to allow a space for Buetel tape to fill and prevent water passing through the bolt. We also place Buetel tape in the countersunk bolt screw head to capture what we could.

In the end this was an extensive project but very well done. The balsa damage was filled with flexible epoxy, the bolts are a tight fit and the Buetel tape is well seated to prevent leaks. While challenging and time consuming, this repair should last the life of the boat.

Countless other projects completed as well – 1 per day at least!