Bristol, RI

Bristol is yet another of the many small coastal towns we've visited.  We  enjoy going ashore and walking these small towns to see the sights and get some excercise. 

Rhode Island

We met a great couple while we were in the Bahamas.  They live in Massachusetts and keep their boat on Naragansett Bay in Rhode Island.  Their description of the bay is one of the reasons we decided to spend some time in this area this summer.  Deb and Pierre, you are right!  This is a lovely area.  We sent them a quick email when we got here and like cruisers everywhere, they went out of their way to meet with us and show us around .....yes in a car!   We had a great time and lunch at the Portuguese restaraunt was excellent. Thanks again for your generosity!

What a ship is...

"That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs. But what a ship is,... really is, is FREEDOM!"

Captain Jack Sparrow

Stonington, Connecticut

We enjoy stopping in Stonington.  The anchorage is not the best, lots of rolling from the wakes of boats and a bouy horn that sounds all the time (it gets annoying)....but.....the beautiful old homes and overall ambiance is worth the stop.

Summer Storms

One of the issues we face traveling north are storms.  We try to avoid moving during  storms.  This can be difficult because the forecasters are quite often wrong.  We have sat out days that ended being crystal clear and traveled on days that are stormy.  It all ends up ok, we even see some rainbows!  Tomorrow we will go searching for a pot of gold.

Hot, hot, hot!

It is so hot out  and  there is no wind for sailing.  What do we do?  We take the dinghy for a ride to a beach for a swim.  The speed of the dinghy creates a breeze and a swim really cools us off. 

Goin in Circles!

If you've looked at our spot tracker for yesterday & today, you'll see a lot of circling round.
Yesterday it was wind predictions. We thought we'd have favorable winds to head NE up Long Island Sound. We got out into the sound and the wind and waves were right on the nose. We decided to turn around and go back into Port Jefferson and wait for better conditions. We're in no hurry.
Today, we pulled anchor just in time to see the large tanker at the dock getting underway. The current was running fairly strong against us through the inlet, so I chickened out and turned around; circling around in the harbor waiting for the 2 tugs and the tanker to go through the relatively narrow inlet. Discretion and valor and all that.
We're now out on the sound headed NE and the wind that was blowing nicely near shore has vanished. Oh well, it's nice and sunny, calm and the oppressive heat has left us for low 80's temps.

Anchoring with the Vanderbilts

Here in Northport, NY on Long Island there is a lot to keep us busy.  Yesterday we toured the Vanderbilt estate, yes those Vanderbilts.  You can see s/v Freedom anchored in the bay with all the moored boats.  The grounds here are beautiful with a breathtaking view.  They had a free concert on the grounds with Bob Marley music.  We enjoyed the concert from Freedoms cockpit.

Rush Hour

Although the weather guessers  are calling for thunderstorms and/or rain all day today, we thought it looked clear enough to make our run from New Jersey through New York into Long Island Sound.  Timing is critical because of the very strong currents, especially through the East River and the area called Hell Gate.  We did our calculations to time the tide and current and determined that an early start was in order.  Going up the East River we hit 11.4  knots, our usual speed is 6 knots.  It was very busy in the  harbor (harbour for our Canadian friends).  I cant imagine the traffic on a Saturday.    Since the day was gloomy I decided to take pictures of some of the traffic we encountered. 

Fog

We sayed an extra night at Atlantic City to avoid the big thunderstorms that were predicted.  We heard on our VHF radio of hit and miss storms all around us but we never even had a drop of rain.  Our plan was to head out the next morning in the dark to get a jump on the long day ahead and take advantage of the tidal currents.  We got up in time but decided to wait till first light, we saw some light fog rolling over the city.  Good decision, there was active dredging going on in the inlet channel, we needed daylight to avoid the barrels and hoses associated with the dredge.  The fog did roll in, light at first then heavier.  We had a long day.  On and off fog in the morning and direct downwind motor sailing until about an hour outside of Sandy Hook, NJ.  We quickly got anchor down in Atlantic Highlands to prepare for another storm that hit just north of us.  We did get a little rain over night but are wondering if our luck can hold out.

Curious Clouds

We decided to stay anchored in Atlantic City an extra day to wait out predicted storms. Well, we didn't get any rain all day although tonight may be another story, ya never know. But a squall line did pass through with some curious looking clouds.

No, we did not go ashore and gamble away our savings!

Cape May

We spent the 4th of July holiday in Cape May, New Jersey.   Huge crowds, we were glad to be riding our bikes and not trying to get around town in a car.  We loved all the old victorian houses.  The beaches were wall to wall people!  We had dinner at the raw bar at the Lobster House.  This restaurant has a fish market attached and was always busy, you can eat inside or order take out and find a table outside to eat.  We made sure we picked up some fresh fish and lobster salad to take back to Freedom...yum.