"Egret" N4674 - Scott and Mary Flanders

Ed. note: On February 10, 2011, Scott and Mary Flanders, on board their Nordhavn 46, Egret, arrived in the Canary Islands. In doing so, Egret became the eighth Nordhavn to circumnavigate the globe. It had been four years, five months since the couple departed Gran Canaria, intent on seeing as much of the earth as possible, although not necessarily with an end goal to circle the globe. Voyage of Egret documents the Flanders’ entire trip, an endless adventure that has put them in touch with the most fabulous places and interesting people. Much route planning and forecasting was required in order to get to some of their ports of call. But the days of detailed planning are over…for now. “Egret” is now back in Fort Lauderdale, the place the couple called home for so many years, and, ironically, the starting point of their world wide cruising escapade that began with the Nordhavn Atlantic Rally in 2004. They currently travel hither and yon, sometimes by boat, sometimes not. Here, the latest update from the Flanders as they keep us continually apprised.

38 19.88N 76 27.57W View Larger Map

September 24, 2012

Position: 38 19.88N 76 27.57W On anchor, Solomons, Maryland

Newport Harbor is like no harbor we have seen in Egret’s travels except perhaps Auckland, New Zealand so we’ll dedicate this VofE photographs to Boats, nothing but Boats*. There are boats everywhere and at all times there are piles of boats under sail or racing around the buoys. One group of boats is super unique. There are at least a dozen former America’s Cup defenders in the harbor still being actively raced………ok pseudo raced with tourists. The America’s Cup is the holy grail of around the buoys racing and I suppose if you are a local sailor that races around the buoys at home, sailing on an America’s Cup boat would be quite a thrill. When they return from racing outside the harbor in the late afternoon all lit up in the setting sun it is quite a show. We saw a advertisement ashore saying the cost for a 12m was $73 for a 2 hour cruise. Moored just outside the harbor is the old Nantucket light ship that this day is a unique B&B.

*We chose Egret for many reasons and would again for our home and travels. She is what we feel is best for us but that is just for ourselves. Other people have other interests and we appreciate them all.

After arriving, down went the dinghy and we headed for shore. Preparations are going on along the waterfront for the upcoming boat show. Still we managed to work our way to the dinghy dock and after some inventive maneuvering we managed to get a spot. So Newport begins once again. Newport like Lunenburg is a town we don’t get tired of. I guess it is because of all the boating and boating history. We’ll be here for a week or so then will move on south.

Egret was in Newport last year at the same time and it was the 10th anniversary of 9-11-2001. That posting of VofE was dedicated to 9-11 and America. This year we will begin Egret’s photograph’s with a single photograph dedicated to 9-11. This is who we are and what we are all about……..Freedom to Choose, Freedom to Do. This 91’ Maine built boat was constructed in the middle 90’s by Americans for an American. Unlike most large boats she is flagged in America. She is the prettiest boat in the harbor.

Of course Newport’s harbor is all about boats, however it is also all about history. No where in Egret’s travels have we seen the quantity and quality of restored older boats, both power and sail. Let’s take a minute here to look at New England history.

Of course all boats in the harbor aren’t new and they come in all sizes. Mary and I spent a few hours riding around the anchorage, mooring fields and docks in the dink checking it all out. And speaking of dinghys, there is a new dinghy dock and yachtie area opened this year. Starting from north to south; at the far north end of the harbor between theNewport Yacht Club and thecruise ship landing docks is a long dock paralleling the road to the NYC. The inside of this dock is available to dinghys. About one third of the way down the waterfront is a dinghy dock next to Bowden’s Wharf. Just up from the dinghy dock on the left side is a marine store. Past that toward the street is the Seaman’s Institute that has been in place since the 1800’s serving boat crews and yachties. Inside is a smallish snack bar/restaurant, an open room with tables and chairs (there is wifi throughout). Upstairs is a library and chapel and downstairs are showers, restrooms and a self serve laundry. The new facility is about 2/3ds of the way along the waterfront. As you dinghy along the waterfront look for the turrets on top of the building and a sand beach.The beach side of the floating dock is for dinghys. Inside is a TV, chairs and tables, showers, toilets and a laundry. There is wifi as well. A local photographer donated quite a few framed photographs that line the rooms and halls.

Moorings have a minimum fee of $40 plus tax and after 40’ it is $1/foot. The only dock rates we saw were $4-5/foot/night. Anchoring is free with no problems along the south side of the harbor next to the entrance channel. We usually anchor off the New York Yacht Club’s summer facility. Holding is good in about 25’. There are two floating docks with water faucets for yachties. One is across from Bowden’s Wharf and the other off Fort Adams across the harbor. We filled Egret’s tank this morning from the Ft Adams dock before leaving. Fuel is available from Casey’s Oil Co – 401 848-5945. Casey’s have a fuel barge that will come to your boat. Allow a couple days to fit into their schedule. (Egret took 300 gallons, $4.06.6/gal including tax, plenty to get farther south and cheaper fuel)

There are a number of ol’ tyme sailboats giving harbor sails then head out into the bay. The most popular sailings are the sunset sails and our favorite time to snap a few photo’s.
There are also a couple small powerboats giving harbor tours but sail is the way to go. Be sure and take a jacket no matter how warm it feels on the dock.

Walking downtown we went by a typical junk shop with tee shirts on display. One shirt said “Life Begins At The End of Your Comfort Zone”. Is that great or what? So let’s talk about it. Of course it could mean anything like the difference between driving to work or driving cross country on vacation. Last year in Nova Scotia we met a local who said he had never been off Cape Breton Island, about an hour’s drive from where he lived. So that is one comfort zone. In boating some folks putter around the harbor, others around the bay, others up and down the coast a bit and so on. The key isn’t really where you go but to expand your comfort zone. And expand, and expand……a-e……a-e. If you take your time expanding (baby steps) it will be a pleasant experience and as time and the miles go by your comfort level rises and you never know where you may end up. But first you need to take the first step. Then another, and another so you aren’t existing in the suffocating downward spiral of mediocrity but Living Life Every Day. Or you could stay within an hour’s drive of home, watch TV and eat white bread.

Finally, the latest Circumnavigator Magazine is out. World Famous Jenny Stern* from Nordhavn N.E. drove down from Providence (R.I.) with a few copies for the Egret crew. So we had a nice chat then Mary and I returned to the (Newport) boat show. This issue is a sign of the times and smaller than the previous issues but it contains some interesting items. Opening this issue is an introspective look at the company from PAE president, Dan Streech. A boat company is not just about boats. Boats to be arrive at a factory as barrels of liquid, in boxes or on pallets. It is People who design, order the barrels-boxes-and pallets, receive the same and finally it is People who spend thousands of hours fabricating the same tons of bits into your dreamboat. The transition from materials to a finished product really is quite remarkable. Dan talks about people and the economy but his real message is about People and how the three PAE principals took care of their People and their customers. It is also about the People who had the faith to order boats in a downturn economy. Of course that group are all Big Winners because they are boating sooner than later. I can tell you from another life the WORST CREDIT RISK in the boating industry are the builders and to order a new build from a lesser company would be flirting with disaster. In fact the entire issue is about People more so than boats including a well written in-depth article about the factories. The Fleet Roll Call text is dated but it doesn’t matter. You will read about other’s experiences, miles, favorite cruising grounds and dreams. So call a PAE office for your copy or go to the upcoming Trawlerfest in Baltimore or come to the World’s Best Boat Show, the Ft Lauderdale International Boat Show in late October to get your copy. You never know where it may lead. Perhaps the Med, or Tahiti, or Scandinavia, or New Zealand, or Mexico, or Australia or….or….or a number of folk’s favorite, the Pacific North West.

*Jenny Stern and web guru Doug Harlow (California) had the foresight to bring you VofE to inspire, teach, humor and torture you with logic until you finally cave and Do The Deal just to get some relief. Well Ok, perhaps to join The Life of Freedom and Adventure. Or you could move to Cape Breton Island, unsubscribe to VofE and wallow in white bread.

Ok, back to the Newport Boat Show. The Newport show is a small show but larger than most home grown boat shows. A number of sail orientated vendors are there along with a fair representation of smaller boats. We loved the lines of some of the small Maine built weekenders. We spent most of the day at the show and didn’t buy a thing except coffee. Mary tried to get me to buy a new belt but my favorite belt has fish on it and the fish belts at the Newport show had girl fish they catch up here so they were the wrong kind of fish so we will wait until the FLL boat show where the belts have boy fish so of course after I buy a new boy fish belt I’ll have to hide this one as a backup because she’ll throw it out just because it is a bit raggedy and not as pretty as a new boy fish belt.

We started looking at weather to leave Newport and head south down Long Island Sound to the next stop at Port Washington. As luck would have it, on Friday, the day after the boat show opening day the weather will be perfect for some days.

Today is Friday and Egret is under way once again. Our luck did finally run out and we hit The Race* against the tide and were down to 2.2 knots at times. Currently she is doing 4.0 knots at 1550 rpm. In another hour she will be past a bulge in the north shore of Long Island and she’ll pick up speed until the tide swing then she will be flying. We plan to run until near dark then pull off and anchor off a beach somewhere. The weather is benign so there won’t be any rocking and rolling and tomorrow we’ll complete the 110nm trip into Port Washington.

*The Race is a shallow water ledge at the worst possible place in Long Island Sound. It is on the east end of the sound between two restrictive bits of land with the majority of Long Island Sound trying to exit this point into the Atlantic. The current had to be at least 5 knots when Egret pushed thru. More to follow.

OK, here’s the deal. We won’t get to send this VofE posting until well after Newport so the balance will be text only. You get the picture.

Egret anchored off the beach on the Long Island – E – side of Long Island Sound in the verrrrrry last available light. Even though the chart showed a h (hard) bottom, TK did the deal and stuck big time. Had we had to have moved and re anchored it would have been in the dark. The wind backed during the night and by morning it was rock and roll city so we left at first light heading up to Port Washington, NY, the last good anchorage before the passage thru Hells Gate and NYC. We gave Port Washington good coverage last year about the same time but in a nutshell; Port Washington is VERY yachtie friendly with 20 free moorings for transients, two dinghy docks – one for dinghys, water and a free do it yourself pumpout and the other dock is across the street from a shopping mall complete with a large grocery store and the usual rest. PW is also the end of the line for the Long Island Rail Road into NYC.

This year’s stop in PW was to be a bleed and go deal. Bleed like leaving many BU’s in one of two giant NYC camera stores. TK went down in no wind and no wind predicted for 3+ days so we just fired out 100’ of chain for 18’ of water at high tide. So off we went to NYC thinking we would melt plastic and arrived at B&H Audio Video just as they were CLOSING at 1300 for the coming 2 day holiday. I was crushed after so much anticipation. So now what?

VofE is many things but one thing VofE is to me is a story about a remarkable child bride I met more than a couple decades ago. Her first reaction was “we’ll just have to stay”. She knew what that meant. Because of the delay we will most likely have to do some overnighters we hadn’t planned on and push harder on the way south. We also have weather coming so there is another possible delay. But she knew this was important to me so whatever we had to do to make the trip south work, we would. So we waited.

Then the weather came. A front blew thru with sustained gale force winds for hours gusting to 45 knots. These winds lasted for nearly a full day and half way thru the night. Before dark I could tell we were doing a very slow drag. We could have drug at that rate for a few days but why take a chance? Remember, we only put out 100’ of chain, a rough 5-1 scope and by pitching in the chop it put enough strain on TK in soft mud to loose his grip. To be proactive we re anchored before dark dropping in 10’ sending out 150’ of chain. We didn’t begin to stick on the first re anchor. During all this it is gusting to 35+ and MS was on the foredeck washing the chain, setting the snubber and so on. Of course the seawater and mud flew back during the chain wash and she got soaked and muddy. And of course I was in the pilothouse in tee shirt and shorts all comfy womfy keeping the boat in gear heading into the wind and working the windlass toggle. When the chain came up we had picked up a pile of discarded trap line some ^&%##* idiot threw overboard instead of taking it ashore. So re anchor number 2 we dropped in 10’ and fired out the same 150’ and that was the end of it. Remember the lesson here. Once we decided to stay, and Knew weather was coming, we should have re anchored (because of the soft bottom). We didn’t and it was a mess.

Three smallish boats sunk on moorings and one large one at the dock during the blow and heavy rain. Four sailboats including one really nice race boat had their roller furling sails flog loose and were ripped to shreds to perhaps become shower curtains or sailbags down the road. There was inland flooding as well.

So on Wednesday the weather was better and off we went to NYC by train. It’s a long story but we ended up at the other big NYC camera store, Adorama*. We got a bit of extra discount above internet pricing so that was good but nevertheless it was bleed city and we left with more stuff than we wanted to carry. The BIG lens weighs nearly 8 pounds. And so on. So it is what it is, it is our hobby so I guess we’ll have to give up white bread.

*www.adorama.com, Andre Mastro – Pro Sales Consultant, 800 223-2500, x2189 andrem@adorama.com. Andre is a nice knowledgeable young man who spend a few hours with us. (We have no connection to Andre or Adorama other than satisfied customers).

Egret departed Port Washington after a full half hour or more of chain washing from MS. At least it wasn’t blowing and she didn’t get wet or muddy. The trip thru Hells Gate in NYC has to be timed exactly with the current flow. The strong section current starts about 6nm from Port Washington and continues thru Hells Gate, out into NY Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty and even into the Atlantic. I’ll pass along a tip I didn’t know until yesterday; using C Map charting and Max Sea software if you double click on the current arrows a pop up shows the state of the tide and current flow. This is priceless for departure planning. Egret’s timing was perfect and we caught the first of the tide swing so we enjoyed a moderate current hitting a high of 9.4 knots. Her first trip thru Hells Gate in 2003 was a white knuckle deal with tons of storm debris in the water and a high speed of 13.4 knots. Of course we didn’t know then what we know now.

It was choppy leaving the harbor in a wind against tide situation but we slugged thru and once in the Atlantic most of the rock and roll went away. There were up to 2 meter beam seas and the Naiad’s did their deal. The seas settled during the night and this morning (Fri) at 0900 there are 1m swells from astern pushing the little lady along at 7.5 knots. In less than an hour we turn NW and head up Delaware Bay riding the tide*.

*If you catch the tide swing at Hells Gate, run thru NYC and into the Atlantic and travel at a rough average speed of 6.5 – 6.8 knots down the New Jersey coast (on an overnighter) you will enter Delaware Bay on the start of the flood up the bay. You will ride the tide all the way to the C&D Canal that connects Delaware Bay to Chesapeake Bay. This is Egret’s third time doing the same and it works perfectly every time. There is enough water to run west of the shipping channel so there is no commercial traffic to deal with. However, you must keep a lookout for crab trap floats but in reality it is no biggie. More to follow.

Just like last year, Egret made it thru the C&D Canal before dark and we anchored off the beach. She left the next morning at daybreak heading for Solomons, Maryland when by chance we called yachtie friends Tut & Eddie aboard well traveled GB46 Tothill to see if they were near and as luck would have it, they were anchored in St Michaels (Md). So we met in a more peaceful setting in the Wye River. It was like old tymes and dinner this time was aboard Egret. (We had dinner aboard Tothill on the way north in the spring) It’s about the people but you already know that. We’ll meet again in Ft Lauderdale for the boat show.

Egret departed at first light and of course we had to give T&E a couple shots of the bow thruster next to their aft stateroom which I’m sure sent man eating watch dog Cocobear into a dither. Oh well, what are friends for?

We enjoyed a downhill ride in 15+ knots to Solomons which was a pleasant change from the head sea slugfest the day before. We arrived early afternoon and anchored in the large bay in the western arm. Solomons is a yachtie haven and the area is filled with marinas. The reason to visit Solomons is former Nordhavn Atlantic Rally alumnus, Braun and Tina from Grey Pearl and now Ocean Pearl is docked at Spring Cove Marina taking care of a few things on their new to them N64. Tina was away on a Girls Outing and Braun was aboard. So we had a nice chat, a boat tour (OP is magnificent!!!!) and dinner at a local seafood restaurant. Like Tothill we’ll see B&T at the Ft Lauderdale show. It’s about the people but didn’t we say that?

This posting was delayed because we haven’t had internet access so it encompasses quite a bit of territory from Newport to Port Washington (NY), thru NYC into the Atlantic, down the New Jersey coast, up the Delaware Bay, thru the C&D Canal, into the Chesapeake, on to the Wye river and now to Solomon’s. We’ll spend a few days in Solomon’s visiting yachties then will move on south toward Norfolk and into the Intracoastal Waterway.

Ciao.

 

41.4900° N, 71.3133° W View Larger Map

September 10, 2012
Position: Newport Harbor 41.4900° N, 71.3133° W

Hello mis amigos, oh ho hum, another N46 crossed an ocean. N46 Starlet arrived in Portugal from the Azores a few days ago. We received a copy of their blog from Portugal and it is well written with great photography. Take the time to check it out and get on the mailing list.

Ok, so back to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Egret arrived before first light and docked at the Government Wharf then cleared Customs by phone. After a snooze we moved over to the anchorage and fired TK down in 18’ with 125’ of chain. There were a number of cruising boats including some international cruisers. We invited a nice chap from New Zealand over for sundowners and had a nice chat. He is single handing on the way to the Caribbean for the winter.

We have done a fair amount of reporting on Lunenburg in the big picture so now let’s get down to the details a cruiser will need to know. The dinghy dock is at Zwicker’s Dock, a grey – green trim clapboard building on the waterfront. The large main dock has floating docks on either side for dinghys. Most folks go to the left side facing the town but we dock according to the wind so the wind holds the dink away from the dock. It is best to dock away from the others if you can because there are a number of rat trap hard dinghys belonging to locals and if your outboard happens to lay against one of those it is scratch city. It happened to us on the new 15hp Yamadog. Not happy about that. (The dinghy wasn’t there when we docked) At the top of the dock on the right side is a garbage bin that looks too nice to be a garbage bin but the lid lifts and there you go. Before you exit the Zwicker property, on the left is a commercial business of some type and inside to the back is a used oil tank. Twice we have emptied oil pails there and set the pails alongside with the others. If you are not a boater this may seem strange we even mentioned it but we have hauled used oil many miles to find a place to dispose of it properly.

Just across the street from Zwickers and up one street is a dark red building that is the Adams and Knickle store. At first glance it looks like an ol’ tyme chandlery but in the back is a freezer with the world’s best scallops (scullups to locals). Down that street to the right are two places you need to know about. The first is the local chandlery with a good inventory of boat stuff. The second is the closest grocery store to the dinghy dock. It is a smallish store but has most everything you may need including fresh meat, fruit and veggies. A larger grocery store and liquor store are a fair hike in the other direction. Town maps are available everywhere and anyone can point it out. One local favorite is Screech, the Newfoundland rum. That stuff will set you free.

While we are on food there is a Thursday Market that opens at 0800 and closes around 1300. We buy our veggies there when we can as well as jam (remember Mrs Whynacht and her blueberry jam?), also bread from the bread lady and meat from a local farmer. This time we got there at 1000 and a ^%##^ B&B owner bought all the fat free smoked bacon he had. So we got thicker slices of ham that taste the same as well as a fair amount of lean ground beef. (We are having some tonight……..yes!) The market always has a kid band with a guitar, fiddle and other stuff playing Celtic music. There is also a fish vendor with about everything that swims locally including live lobster. So we nailed a couple of those for that night.

On the way back from the market we stopped by the Windbag Company (www.windbagcompany.ca) to check out the store. At the Cruising Club of America outing, part of the welcome pack was a bucket bag from the Windbag Company. The bags are unique in the fact they are fabricated from used sails. On each item is a tag giving the history of the sail and the boat it came from. They had some way cool BBQ aprons made from both Kevlar and mylar racing sails. So we took it a step farther and had a custom shower curtain made from a Kevlar racing sail (opaque and gold Kevlar tows). If that wild or what? I can’t wait to show it to our N46 buddy back in Ft Lauderdale and ask if he has one. You know how that goes. Of course when he reads this he will call the Windbag Company to order one like it or even cooler but we bought the last large piece available so now he will have to jump thru hoops to have one made locally from New Material with NO pedigree. Of course it will be bleed city. Ho hum.

There is free city wifi beamed to the anchorage with fair recepton. For faster service the local library has a number of internet terminals as well as wifi. Mary and I have spent a fair amount of time at the library using the faster wifi to send VofE pics as well as mail, etc. They also have a lending DVD movie program and we always read for a while and usually make a morning out of it. Of course thenwe have to go somewhere for lunch. The best seafood is at the AtlanticFisheries Museum on the waterfront. Another favorite is the the Savvy Sailor with outside seating and a water view. Then there are the usual art galleries and junk shops. A few sites to visit around town is the Dory Shop, local cottages on walks around town, and the former blacksmith’s shop which is now a distillery. We really enjoy Lunenburg and unlike some places we never get tired of wandering around town.

We stayed in Lunenburg a week this visit with a weather eye out for the 2 day hop to Boston. With all the storm activity we were keeping a very close watch and then we received an unsolicited weather report from OMNI Bob (Ocean Marine Navigation) giving us a longer range forecast and possible direction for hurricane Issac. That was really nice and later we found Bob sent the same report to N47 Bluewater who has also used Bob’s services in the past. That is first class service.

Ralph D, the Commodore of Winthrop Yacht Club outside Boston and a few of his buddys have been following VofE for some time with an eye on their own futures when it is Their Time. So Ralph invited Egret to stop by so we did. Mary and I have never been to Boston and it is on the way to Newport where we planned to attend the Newport Boat Show, visit a few boating buddys, collect mail and so on.

We got a perfect two day weather window for the 350nm hop to Boston so we left Lunenburg just after first light. By the end of the first 24 hours, Egret was averaging 7.1 knots (and climbing) for the trip running way to fast. So we slowed from 8.4 knots at 1450 to 1350 to 1275 and eventually 1200rpm and Still was doing 6.8 knots at times. Fortunately around 30nm from Boston we were down to 5.1 knots in a tide swing and that gave Egret a daylight arrival. OMNI Bob was predicting possible heavy afternoon thundershowers and a lot of wind so we decided to run a little harder up front. The trip was super calm with no spray on Mary’s stainless, much less on the pilothouse glass.

A club member took Egret’s lines on arrival at Winthrop Yacht Club’s visitors dock. And then it began.You can’t imagine how friendly and helpful these folks are. This is the most laid back group you can imagine. The dress code for the clubhouse is a clean tee shirt and shorts or jeans. The food is first class in the clubhouse and it is open every night. We spent quite a bit of time with Commodore Ralph, his wife Sue and another club officer Donnie and his wife Karen. Both are looking forward to Their Time. I believe Donnie is closer with a 3 year plan to sell his current 46’ Grand Banks, shed Their Stuff and buy a brokerage N. Donnie and Karen have their sights set on a N50. It was also really good to have the ladies talk to Mary one to one. Mary tells it like it is and to this day she is still full of enthusiasm. I love listening to her telling stories of this n’ that place or person or experience. I enjoy it as much as the others just reliving the experience seen thru her eyes.

So how welcoming is Winthrop Yacht Club? When Egret arrived there was no 50 amp 220V service on the visitors dock because Winthrop is primarily a small boat club. They called a local marine store owner at home and got him to open the store to buy the 220V Hubbell fitting. The club electrician wired the fitting and Egret had shore power. (The club is now going to wire every other electrical pedestal fitting with 220V on the visitor’s dock.) Because they are N Dreamers, if you are a N owner go to the Yahoo Groups, N Owners site and read the posting I posted the other day. You’ll see how welcome you are.

One block from WYC is the Winthrop ferry to downtown Boston. It lands in the historic waterfront district and makes several round trips a day. This makes WYC a perfect base for exploring historic Boston. This is the view of downtown Boston seen from the Yacht Club.

The yacht club is different than most. The club appears to be a neighborhood club of friends who grew up together, bought boats together and enjoy each other’s company. When the new floating dock landing needed to be built, (Commodore) Ralph sent out an e-mail looking for help and got 80 members on a rainy Saturday. In one day the member volunteers constructed an entire floating dock and the next weekend the members ran the wiring and water. This take care of each other and ourselves recipe has worked for over 150 years* and Ralph said they are getting ready for the next 150 years. Pretty cool. *Winthrop Yacht Club is the 25th oldest YC in the country.

Ralph drove Mary and I into Boston to clear into the U.S. and get a new cruising permit (Egret is a foreign flagged vessel). The office is downtown at the cruise ship terminal so we got to see the waterfront driving by on a mini tour then back to the club. Now for the big bummer. With a hurricane offshore moving north we can’t fool around. After just two days at WYC we had to leave and take advantage of the perfect two day weather window for the run to Newport. In addition to what we said before about Newport we know where to find a hidey hole if the storm takes a turn for the coast. Newport is a two - day trip hop. The first day is 48nm and the second is just 40nm.

Leaving Boston using the southern channel, this lighthouse protects the incoming vessels to Boston Harbor. The trip to and thru the Cape Cod Canal was complete luck, first with the predicted calm weather And the tide timing to transit the CCC was perfect. This is the railroad bridge mid way thru the CCC. Last year’s trip thru the CCC the RR bridge was DOWN but fortunately it was slack tide. Egret arrived one hour after the tide swung to the west so we had an easy transit and hit a high of 10.4 knots. In a wind against tide the CCC entrances can be super dangerous. On the west side of the CCC are two designated anchorages on either side of the approach channel for vessels to wait for weather or tide timing to transit the canal. This is where Egret anchored for the night and where I am writing this portion of VofE. 41 40.84N 70 41.46W. More to follow.

It is 1345 Friday afternoon. Egret is paralleling the coast off Newport before turning west to the harbor in a couple miles. The Newport mansions are dotting the shoreline in the distance. Actually they aren’t dotting, they are big globing the shoreline. A classic Morris 52 sloop just passed Egret on the way to the Newport Boat Show that starts on Thursday, Oct 13th. Large ocean swells rise when hitting shallow water nearing shore and even in this benign weather the waves crashing against the off lying rocks are sending white water skyward.

Egret arrived soon after, down went TK in 25’ and out went 125’ of chain. The anchorage is off the New York Yacht Club property and you have to choose your spot carefully because of moorings and other boats on anchor. Boat show week is a frantic time in the harbor and everything is chock a block full. More on Newport to come in the next VofE.

Ciao.

Ed. Note - The glossary of Egretism terms will be posted on the Captain's Log home page for easy reference.

Subscribe to The Voyage of Egret Updates Email: For Email Newsletters you can trust