October 2016

Arriving in the Chesapeake Bay on September 29 felt a bit like coming home. At the time, Hurricane Matthew was a threat as it began charging through the Eastern Caribbean and weather experts around the globe proposed potential tracks, some going right over our heads. We considered the Bay safe, given the many tiny creeks we could tuck Alembic into. Boatyards are abundant here as well, and hauling our home onto dry ground was also an option. We listened throughout the following days to weather reports and personal accounts of friends and strangers who were enduring the lashings of this miserable storm.

Our hearts were especially drawn to Haiti. After witnessing first hand last year how absolute poverty permeates this beautiful country, we ached to find a way to help them deal with this blow. There is not enough control over safety and many accounts of aid are dashed by the chaos that reigns. Huge relief trucks carrying water have been looted, and deliveries of food often don’t make it to their intended destinations. How can we help? Even money sent there often doesn’t land in the right hands. The owner of a beautiful resort told us that his business blossomed during the earthquake relief because aid workers were put up there while awaiting orders to assist the community. Many helpers never even had a chance to help, but they enjoyed the safe confines of the resort. I applaud anyone who can actually make a difference in Haiti and humbly regret that I don’t have the guts to go there now.

One aspect of growing up, which I am still working on, is to continue to work toward my own goals while trying to help others along the way. I can’t fix the world but I hope to make a difference here and there.

Two inch Bee

Bad Photo of Two Eagles together on a branch

So, on we charged, into the Chesapeake to where the wildlife struck us as more robust than ever. This two inch long bee came along for the ride for a few hours before I became tired of watching him NOT sting us and shooed him away. They sure are huge here! My camera is pathetic, but this photo shows a pair of eagles having a snuggle on a branch. Eagles are everywhere, swooping down and catching huge fish, landing on mastheads, and being chased by much smaller birds who are finding them a nuisance!

Keeping the wildlife out of our cabin is a constant chore. Fruit flies, mosquitos, and other creatures are constantly trying to nest and nibble below. My only defense is to attack all surfaces with scrubbing. I used to hate cleaning my stove in the house, but the galley stove has proved to be even more challenging!

Cleaning around a galley stove is challenging!

My galley got a break when we arrived at the Whitby Brewer Rendezvous and all meals were ashore for 3 and a half days. Only four boats arrived at the gathering, with Matthew looming, but almost fifty people were in attendance. Bill and I truly appreciate this group for the valuable information that is shared, and for the family atmosphere that is evident when we gather.

Allegria, Red Ranger, Shooting Star, and Alembic

Whitby Brewer Family

After saying our goodbyes to our Whitby Brewer tribe, we headed north to Annapolis to connect with another wonderful group of friends and family. While we plan our visit for the Annapolis Boat Show, seeing cruising friends and Swansons is really the best part. Eric set us up again at his dock for a safe and convenient place to carry out our plans. The Boat Show is an easy walk and guests can come aboard without having to organize dinghy rides.

Bill went up the mast in Annapolis when our courtesy flags started coming untied

Our first night at the dock we arranged to have dinner in Alembic’s cockpit with Anne, Eric, Carleen, Bruce, and Susan. Jim’s presence was strongly felt, even though he passed away only one month earlier. Sitting among his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and friends, I longed to hear from Jim too; he always had bright ideas and positive insights. I regret that we took no pictures; perhaps this was because Jim could not be in them.

Friday was a great day for us to attend the Boat Show, as the next day was a deluge of rain. Unlike last year, we went aboard many boats, and confirmed our love of Alembic. Many new boats were flashy and expensive, but none felt like home. One boat, however, did make us consider a change for when we consider “settling down”. A Seawind Catamaran seemed to have “grandchildren” written all over it. NO! We don’t have grandchildren, but if we are graced with them someday, we would like to have a boat that is perfect for them. Aside from prowling around on boats, most of our day was spent, like last year, visiting all of the exhibits of gear and services. While we walked away with a few purchased items, we collected many ideas and plans for improvements for Alembic.

Family

Chrissy and James, who went to West Point, enjoy a day at the USNA

To top off our Annapolis visit, my siblings Marie and Paul came with their spouses and children. Despite the downpours, it was wonderful to be together to catch up on each others’ lives.

Hurricane Matthew may not have hit us, but it did send wind to blow enough water out of the bay for us to be stuck in our slip one more day. The Chesapeake is bizarre in that the tides are affected more by the weather than by the moon. The moon does seem to time the high and low tides, but the water levels are a result of the wind. But I didn’t complain, because this afforded me the time to have a nice long visit with Anne. From the days we cruised together in 1989, she has always been a mentor for me, and listening to Anne’s perspective on life’s challenges and joys helps me to focus on what is important.

Anchoring at Solomons at sunset

As the wind settled, and the water filled the bay again, we untied from the dock and set off for a lovely sail to the Solomons. We dropped anchor just inside the harbor and went ashore for a wonderful musical experience of a one man show at a bar. Beatboxing, storytelling, singing, and sharing his zen crafts, this guy was talented! I wish I could post a video of his skills.

We were all neighbors for a season on a dock in Maine

Deltaville was our next stop. Here we met friends from Maine and completed many projects. Bill replaced our steering conduit and cables, and sent our alternator to be refurbished. I sewed the sacrificial blue fabric back onto the genoa, but brought the sail to a sailmaker to replace leather and webbing for the clew. My Sailrite sewing machine may be magic, but it can’t stitch through this thickness. Then, I almost finished sewing the dinghy chaps, a necessary “jacket” to keep the sun from eating the dinghy material in the Caribbean sun.

Bill takes the heavy alternator on his back to shore by SUP

Taking a swim break

Ullman Sails sewed on this leather and webbing through at least eighteen layers of stiff fabric

This genoa is cumbersome to manage on deck and with a sewing machine!

Our last stop in the Chesapeake was a quick trip into Salt Ponds to say hello to Dan and Åsa, friends from our Caribbean rally last year. Seeing them, and hearing of their plans to go through the Panama Canal, revved up our wanderlust. While we are not ready to join them this year, maybe next…

Dan and Åsa from Sweden

The Chesapeake is a popular place for weekend sailors and world cruisers. The weather is pleasant, the anchorages are abundant and safe, and the services and supplies are second to none. Someday we may actually spend a season exploring all of the many offerings, but for now, we are off to Norfolk and points south.

Bye Bye Beach House. Some day we may live here.

I haven’t posted in a while. Not for lack of thoughts. Or lack of writing. But somehow I never felt grounded in “Alembic Adventures” enough to post. This is supposed to be Alembic’s adventures, right? Well, Bill and I have had many adventures since May, but most have been off Alembic. We have spent time with our kids, my family, Bill’s family, CBHS colleagues, NxStage colleagues, friends from Maine and friends further afield. We have stayed at our two dwellings, Camp Weigel at Mt Abram and the Beach House in South Portland, as well as in a boatyard, in a tent, in Colorado, in hotel rooms, and on many friends’ sofas.

Sailing by Portland Head Light, just off our mooring in South Portland

Now that we have been aboard exactly one week, I’m getting in the groove. Leaving Portland three weeks ago didn’t really feel like we had begun cruising because we still had some land travel to enjoy.

Good hearty laughs with Kenny, Jenna, Phil, and Karen in York

We left Alembic anchored in Boston to go see Lindsay in her first triathlon and to stay with the Wilsons who are the annual trophy winners of this race.

Lindsay is ready for her first Triathalon

Logan, Lindsay, Sean, and David all finished strong

Then I rented a car in Newport to take another visit to my parents in Connecticut.

Dad can barely lift his head, but he’s still making lists and teaching me about life.

So, my return to Newport, and the drop off of the rental car felt like our starting point, one week ago.

We pick up Mylar balloons before they can entangle wildlife

Sailing is hard work

Sunsets are always remarkable

Another Whitby 42, Irish Rose, has a family of 4 aboard. We enjoyed dinner aboard with them in Newport.

First, we set sail for Long Island Sound. What a perfect trip sailing with our sails full and the current pushing us along. Some day we will have to spend more time in this special area and fully appreciate the many harbors. Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island, and Shelter Island each have unique appeal for us, and we long to visit them again. Sailing past Point Judith and Green Hill beach brought back crazy memories of my teen years hanging out at our cottage with family and on the beaches for late night bonfires. Friends and family along the Connecticut shore have been so welcoming in the past and we plan to visit each of them again soon.

This year, however, we sailed right on through to New York City. Well, almost. After twenty hours of perfect conditions (except I couldn’t sleep), we entered Port Washington and dropped anchor at 4am. Fully rested after 4 hours of sleep, we motored over to the moorings that we couldn’t see in the pitch dark. These moorings are free for two days and are very close to a dinghy dock. Not many things are free in NYC!

Like fish out of water, here we are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC!

Taking the train into the city was fun, which surprised me. Usually, we are not city folk. Hicks from Maine are rarely considered cosmopolitan. This time, we traveled one hour by train, then took the subway to Penn Station, and walked through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Deciding that we needed a full month of daily visits to take it all in, we left after four hours, feeling saturated with amazing culture and Art.

The following day, Rob Ross, Bill’s college roommate, picked us up and drove us to his beautiful home in Great Neck Long Island. What a great guy. How many people do you know marry their college sweetheart, start working with Dad right out of college, and 32 years later still have the same wife (and their three talented daughters), same job, same boss (84 year old Dad), same neighborhood, and same tennis and sailing buddies?! Dad sets the tone with the whole “work hard, play hard” theme as he dashes off every weekend to their cottage on Shelter Island to hang out with the ROMEO’s (Retired Old Men Eating Out!) While visiting their home which they share, I noticed that Gerry’s hands were a bit darkened by years of working on motors, but his killer smile and sharp intellect reminded me that a lifetime of sticking to what matters is good medicine.

Motoring through NYC on a chilly morning

Couldn’t resist this picture. Can’t remember if Portland was the Port of Call or the name!

Transiting Hell’s Gate in NYC went blissfully smoother this year, compared with last. Last year the US Coast Guard insisted we drop anchor in the middle of the tight channel because the Pope was in town and the whole canal was closed for security for a few more hours. We, and the other umpteen boats they ushered over to the edge, were clinging to our anchors, praying they would hold with the raging currents. This year, we flew through, sometimes at over 11 knots! And right through New York harbor, with zero cruise ships, zero tankers, and only a few fast ferries far from us. Weird. Maybe Tuesday is NYC slow day. Note to self: travel on Tuesdays not Fridays!

Since our NYC transit went so smoothly, we decided to keep on going, right on to Cape May. The wind nearly died, so it was a motor boat ride with SW winds of only about 5-10 knots. We hurried along, knowing that lingering out there would result in facing the next day’s forecast of very strong easterlies, kicking up large seas. At 6am the next day, we ducked into Cape May harbor just in time. 25 knot gusts piped up, causing many of us to start spinning around on our anchors as the currents and the winds fought for control of us. Three hours of sleep wasn’t enough, but we knew that this wind was only going to build, so we raised anchor again and charged on through the Cape May Canal into Delaware Bay. Winds were gusting well over thirty knots for most of the day, giving us a boisterous ride under sail.

Wild winds up Delaware Bay. Photo was taken by Dwayne on Foreign Affair

And here is our picture of Foreign Affair in those same crazy winds

Maybe I was just tired, but I felt uncomfortable sailing in the dark, into another canal, and docking at a place we’ve never seen. But Bill insisted that all of the other anchorages wouldn’t afford protection from these winds. He was right. And docking at the North Summit Marina was easy. The spotlight worked this time, so we could see the tiny harbor and the welcoming docks. Tying up and sleeping twelve hours was so satisfying.

Waking up in a strange marina put me instantly into cruising mode. Here we were, knowing no one, but nestled among so many boats. Despite the dreary weather, I liked the neighborhood! Soon, a cruising neighbor knocked on our hull and invited us to breakfast on their boat. Dwayne and Carla, on Foreign Affair, a Catalina 38, had been in radio contact with us in the Atlantic as we sailed from New York City to Cape May and through the Delaware Bay. They had taken pictures of Alembic, as we had of their boat, and we became “radio friends”. This is what cruising is all about: traveling and meeting people everywhere you go, learning about new territory, new weather patterns, new cultures, helping others as you go along, and opening up your heart and mind to vast new experiences. I’m ready.