Water, Water Everywhere...

...And not a drop to drink?  One of the challenges of cruising on a boat is the availability of water.  We fill up our water tanks whenever we stop to buy fuel, but that is not always enough.  In New England there are few marinas and lots of mooring fields.  Each of the towns need to accommodate all the boats on their moorings and have a town dock that provides access to water.  In Newport they have an approximately 25 foot floating dock as a water station.  It is in the middle of the harbor, a water pipe runs underwater and is connected to the float.  Here is Freedom tied to the float getting water. Tieing a 42' boat to a 25' float was interesting. Ed almost stood too far back trying to get these pictures!

More, Please.

Hope you like all the beautiful and classic yachts as much as we do. We couldn't resist, here are some more.  The Nantucket Light Ship in the picture was used to mark the Nantucket shoals, a station established in 1854.    The blue hulled sailboat is HUGE, the others are all classic wood....very meticulously cared for.  Some of them are the 12 meter America's Cup race contenders.

Close Reach

We are getting pretty good at interpreting weather predictions.  We use about a half dozen weather sources as well as current and tide predictors. Our trip from Nantucket, MA to Newport, RI was planned accordingly.  We left Nantucket around 11:30 so that we would not face the current from an incoming tide and suspected  that the first portion of our trip would be motor sailing at best, but hopefully as we rounded Cuttyhunk Island we would be able to sail a close reach.  For the non sailors in the group that means that we would be sailing almost directly into the wind.  This is exactly what happened, our interpretation of the various reports was correct. We had a great sail, arriving in Newport harbor at 6:30.  The chart below shows the second half of our trip, it is from the new app that we downloaded onto my tablet.  We were heeled over a lot more than it looks like the photos below.

Another kind of Freedom

Freedom is a fairly common boat name.  This old  beauty has been anchored or moored near us in Newport, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.  The schooner Shenandoah was anchored at Vineyard Haven harbor and these kids were jumping into the water from the bowsprit, another kind of freedom.

Is it safe yet?

He that will not sail till all dangers are over must never put to sea.

Thomas Fuller

Security Zone

The Coast Guard announced on the VHF radio that there would be a special security zone around the ferry Island Home.  They did not identify the route that the ferry would take, although they did give a time.  All mariners needed to stay 250 yards away from this vessel.    Don't you just know that Island Home, with it's 3 Coast Gaurd vessel escort turned out in front of us in Woods Hole.  Woods hole is a narrow channel with rocks on both sides and STRONG 3 knot current!  We were able to slow down enough to let the ferry and the escort get well ahead of us.   Below is a picture of  our track through Woods Hole.

Newport

We stopped in Newport RI for a few days and spent almost 2 weeks there. Another captivating place that sucked us in and wouldn't let go.

The best part was the boat show. A constant parade of boats of all kinds, right past our free anchorage.

Here's just a brief sample...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.