Bridges going through the Cape Cod Canal


We are back on the boat after a great visit in Toronto and I hate to say it, but things have turned around and our luck has changed. We have been travelling everyday for the last 5 days and nothing has gone wrong, we are finally getting the summer that we never had and instead of seeing about 1000 lobster traps a day, we are only seeing about 10 or so. Bruce is even getting his naps in and that makes for a happy skipper.

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Drew, Vicky, Bruce and I at Cape Elizabeth for lunch


We left the boat in Gloucester after leaving Rockport and seeing Mike and Lilianne for the last time this trip as they are on their way back to Toronto. We had considered a few places to leave the boat but many were either too expensive or did not want us to leave the boat unattended for 7 days. The harbormaster in Gloucester gave us a good deal and didn't mind us leaving. Gloucester also had train service right into Boston and then it was just a short cab ride to the airport so all in all it worked out fine. The only problem was that there was no launch service to take us to shore and the harbor master would not take us either so we had to leave the dingy on a dock for 7 days. Bruce was worried that it would get stolen or damaged but the harbor master assured us that it was safe parked at the coastguard station as there was always someone there as well as cameras. As we were getting ready to leave the boat another boat that was anchored in front of us started to drag his anchor and come very close to our boat. At one time he touched us and we had to push him off. We called that harbormaster and he assigned us another ball that was not behind the anchored boats. Thank goodness we were on the boat when it happened! The dinghy was also fine when we got back and it mustn't have rained much as it was dry too.

We arrived back in Boston on the 18th of September and spent the rest of the day getting the boat ready for an early morning departure. We needed fuel, water and groceries so it was a busy day and since we were up at 4 a.m. it wastn't hard to get to bed early. We left for Plymouth the next morning and anchored in a bay outside of Plymouth as it was a long motor into the town and we wanted to leave again the next day. We had been to Plymouth once before so we didn't mind missing it this time. We again had to get up very early as we were planning on going thru the Cape Cod Canal and because of the currents, you must go thru the canal on an ebb tide or wait outside the canal for the next ebb. We made it through with not much time to spare as we did get a bit of current against us as we left the canal. We were now out of Cape Cod Bay and in Buzzards Bay. This was like heaven as the wind was perfect for sailing and there were virtually NO lobster pots! We sailed as far as Mattapoisett and as if the day couldn't;t get any better, we were given a FREE transient mooring ball from Brownell Boatyard!

From Mattapoisett we left Massachusetts behind and went on to Newport, Rhode Island. We managed to get a town mooring in Newport and there was a launch service that would pick you up on your boat and take you into town. We spent the afternoon wandering around town and went to a great restaurant where I had the best pizza ever. It was a calamari pizza and was so big it could have fed 3 of us. Which it did as I took most of it back to the boat for Bruce and I to have for lunch the next day. We keep forgetting that we are now in the States and every meal is supersized! We considered staying in Newport for an extra day but the weather has been so great for travelling and we would still like to make it to New York in time to meet up with the 3 other boats from PCYC so we decided to travel while the weather was good and wait for a bad weather day to stay put.

Our next stop was Stonington, Connecticut and from there we could head into the Long Island Sound. We again fueled the boat, topped up the water and got some great fresh shrimp for our dinner. This was probably the nicest evening of this entire trip. We anchored in front of the town on a beautiful warm sunny afternoon and just enjoyed the rest of the day. The sunset was amazing and so was the shrimp. We watched boats sail by with people in shorts and t'shirts or no shirts at all. Hard to believe that this is the end of September not the end of July. I am sure it won't last but it is very nice to have. The water temperature is between 20 and 22 degrees insteat of 9 to 12 degrees so the evenings and days on the water are much warmer.


We are now in the Long Island Sound on our way to New Haven where we will stay for the night. This is where Yale University is and they claim to have invented the hamburger and the pizza here. There is a cold front approaching tonight but it is supposed to be a weak one so the weather should not get too bad. We just heard from the Yacht Club in New Haven and they are giving us a free mooring for the night. The wind has started to pick up as the cold front approaches so it will be nice to be on a ball for the night. From here we will plan our trip into New York City. We will probably get close tomorrow if the weather stays good and then wait for good weather to go through Hell Gate. I am not looking forward to this as everything I read makes it sound quite hellish! We are looking forward to seeing our friends from PCYC and I am looking forward to shopping in N.Y.

We were saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Brad Taylor's mother and the brother of our other friends Don and Arlene who spent some time with us at the beginning of this trip. It is always hard to be away from family and friends but it is especially hard at times like these. Our thoughts and prayers are with you guys and we wish we could be there with you.

Happy Birthday to me! Today is the last birthday that I plan on celebrating and it really just feels like another day on the water. Not quite the same when you have to get up and make your own breakfast and then make lunch for the skipper because he is busy sailing the boat! We have now arrived in City Island, New York and it is a great place to spend your birthday. There is one main drag with about 1000 restaurants on it. We are moored at the City Island Yacht Club and they have a 24 hour a day launch service so we didn't even have to be back by 8 p.m. We asked a few people where they would suggest we get dinner and everyone told us Arties, so that's where we went and we had a great dinner, so all in all it wasn't my worst birthday ever. Today, we finally got to do some laundry and get a few groceries. Bruce met a new friend here and he drove us to the laundromat and picked us up again. While I was doing the laundry, there was a salon next door that had a special on a manicure and pedicure for $23.00, so I said what the heck so between the washing and the drying, I got both sets of nails done too! You got to love New York! Tomorrow, we go shopping!!!!!