This is the lovely little red marker that led me astray when we entered the channel to the canal for Cape May. Looks rather large and obvious in the daylight...
As we sat at the fuel dock in Cape May filling tanks and washing up, a sweet middle aged couple came by and were asking me questions about the boat. Isla gets comments everywhere we go, with her beautiful lines and spunky personality. The couple marveled at our journey and said they have a small sailboat but have been thinking about buying a bigger one and getting rid of their house. I told them a bit about our travels and the trials we had been having lately and they offered to drive us anywhere we needed to go for supplies and provisions. I explained about needing new points and the man called a friend of his to see if he might have some and when that didn’t pan out he offered to drive dad to the auto parts store. Joe and Maureen were their names and I knew at that moment that the next section of this trip would be much different than the last. They restored my hope and changed the energy of our journey! Most of the time this trip feels completely normal to me. I have done it many times before with my family and living aboard and traveling has periodically been part of my life. It isn’t daring or unusual or a great feat, it is just part of the journey and a way of life. Why not buy a boat and sail it from Florida to Maine? That’s how you get where you want to go! That’s what she’s built for! I forget sometimes that it's not normal for everyone and that to some we seem quite adventurous! I have to admit I kind of like it :) We left the dock and anchored just off the channel to eat breakfast, install the new points and get our bearings. A couple of other boats surround us and before long a couple putters up in their dingy to chat. They were German and had left Germany about a year ago, with plans to circle back over the next four years! AND they bought their boat a month before they left in Turkey! Florida to Maine doesn’t seem too bad for a shake down cruise, compared to crossing the Atlantic!
I called Justin for an offshore weather report as the radio only supplies us with local weather and all systems were go with S SE winds 5-10 knots for the next few days!
We charged out of the inlet with a few coughs and sputters from the engine, but with a few tweaks and instructions that there was no time for skipping around, she steadied out and we started up the coast with calm seas and a gentle breeze. We started off the morning with some inspiration from the Black Eyed Peas… “ I gotta feelin’, that tonights gonna be a good night…” Thank you Peas! This is the lovely Jersey Coast just north of the inlet... my sister would have been in heaven!
The ocean was like glass with light wind and gently rolling seas and we made about 6 knots through what couldn’t have been a more beautiful night. Dad and I repaired the seam in the second main sail and vowed to use her only in light winds. Donny was in his element fishing with a hand line and as promised caught a small blue fish in less than an hour! I’m not a big fish eater but there is something awesome about catching a fish, filleting her up and eating her right away! He caught a small Bluefish that we added to dinner plans for the night.
An absolutely incredible evening...
In the morning I awoke to dad fine tuning his make shift self steering :)
Donny caught a good sized Bluefish again the next morning, so dinner was fresh two nights in a row!
In the late morning we were greeted with white bellied dolphins who visited us several times and played with Isla’s bow before vanishing off into the depths of the ocean. (See video at the end of this post!!)
The weather stuck with us and while we could have had more wind and made faster time, we had nothing to complain about. We scooted up the Jersey Shore and along Long Island clicking away the 250 miles towards Woods Hole, our last stop before the final leg home to Casco Bay! Small white butted black birds (the official name I’m sure) flitted around us flying low and coasting on the air just about the waves.
The ocean was quiet with hardly any other traffic for the next day or so. We had another beautiful night, unfortunately with a a lot of motoring as there wasn’t much wind, and when I awoke we were just off of Block Island! 45 miles to go into Woods Hole! Dad made our typical breakfast of bacon and eggs as we meandered the last few miles. My body is craving exercise, it’s now Day 14 and while I always forget there isn't much movement involved in sailing long trips, my body is reminding me...
Altho my arms have gotten a work out from the tiller! New experience for me, takes a bit more muscle in any kind of weather!
Made some alterations to the lifelines on the way into woods hole... tightened them up, they look so much better!
Steve met us as we came into Woods Hole and guided us to a mooring for the night! Steve and Irene are long time family friends that live on their boat Star and work in Woods Hole for the summers and then retreat to their Monkey House in Nevis for the winters. It's a rough life but someone has to do it!
We had showers and an amazing dinner on Star. My friend Jonathan from Peaks came and met us for dinner thanks to my dad's surprising memory that he lives near by! Almost home baby, I can feel it!
Another incredible dolphin video off of New York somewhere...
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